Lime helped popularize the climate-friendly concepts of micro-mobility and bike shares that are now seen in many major metropolises around the world; the e-bike rental company operates in more than 280 cities. Last year, it boasted that about five e-bike trips were booked every second—that’s around 156 million trips globally. But beyond helping decarbonize our transport choices (all its bikes are powered by renewable energy), Andrew Savage is also trying to make Lime’s own operations more climate friendly, including by transitioning to a zero-emissions transport fleet. In 2023, it grew its business year-over-year by 32% while reducing annual CO2 emission by 16.3%. Overall, its carbon emission intensity has dropped nearly 60% since 2019.
What is the single most important action you think the public, or a specific company or government (other than your own), needs to take in the next year to advance the climate agenda?
We need to rethink the outsized role private cars have in our biggest cities. By 2050, 70% of the world‘s growing population will be urban. Cities can be the most carbon-efficient place for people to live, but there’s a right and a wrong way to grow. If we are able to rethink the dominant role of cars, which sit idle and parked 95% of their lives, we can free up enormous space for affordable housing, parks, protected bike lanes, and other things that make cities far more livable, while also significantly reducing carbon pollution.
What is a climate solution (other than your own) that isn’t getting the attention or funding it deserves?
Cutting plastic packaging waste. Think about how much waste we create through single-use plastics—from product packaging to food containers. Companies should be taking responsibility for this waste, either through more sustainable material choices that biodegrade or through recollection after use. And customers should demand it. Through cradle-to-cradle initiatives and other tech-enabled solutions, there are enormous opportunities to cut plastic waste and fossil fuel consumption at the same time.
Where should climate activism go in the next year?I’m particularly inspired by the great work of Third Act, founded by climate activist Bill McKibben. Its focus is on engaging those who are 60 years and older, a demographic with the time, financial resources, and voting habits to make a meaningful impact. And, frankly, it’s the generation most responsible for the climate crisis we are in today. While it’s easy to say that future generations will be responsible for the solution—and we will be—there’s a very capable generation with tons of resources to help us hasten the decarbonization transition we so badly need.
