Tunley Environmental announces ambitious transatlantic expansion plans

(Posted on 19/06/24)

Sustainability consultancy Tunley Environmental is announcing ambitious transatlantic expansion plans with the launch of a new company in Chicago.

Tunley founder, 37-year-old entrepreneur Dr Will Beer, said the new US company Tunley Environmental LLC is recruiting now for US scientists to serve and grow the company’s rapidly expanding US client base which represents a third of its $1.6million turnover. Tunley was founded in Leeds, Yorkshire UK in 2018 and now employs 20 people having grown by 200pc in the last year.

Dr Beer said Chicago is ‘perfect’ for Tunley with its central location, lower cost base than East or West Coast as well as access to science level talent at the city’s top universities.

“Tunley is growing in America and the time is right to set up a company here in one of the best cities in America - Chicago,” he said. “We’ve visited Chicago a lot and have been impressed by the welcome we’ve received and networks where we can grow like the Chicago Propeller Club and the American Great Lakes Ports Association. Chicago is also brilliantly located at the crossroads of America where there is a big demand for our services. And we’re already working with a number of major ports on the Great Lakes helping them to decarbonize by applying for funding via Environmental Protection Agency ‘s $3billion clean ports program. We plan to expand that work more broadly across America’s coastal and inland ports. In addition, we want to serve and grow our client base all over the US in key markets like oil and gas and construction.”

Chicago Propeller Club President Chris Carr said: “Tunley has already proven to be a great partner to Chicago and the region with its work here and support for the Chicago Propeller Club. We’re excited to have them as a permanent presence here.”

“There is a shortage of expertise in sustainability consultancy in the US,” said Dr Beer. “It’s very much an emerging but growing sector of the economy kickstarted by the Inflation reduction Act. We have a eco system of products and services to help businesses become much greener. US businesses are becoming more aware of the financial benefits of decarbonizing and being more sustainable. There is often funding available at federal and state level to subsidize the cost of projects. But getting that funding is a time consuming often complicated. At Tunley we solve that headache. We have considerable experience at writing successful grant applications. Moreover, we can undertake the time-consuming jobs of establishing baseline carbon emissions so organizations know where their pain points are and what green technologies they can deploy to cut emissions. In the ports industry for example you can replace diesel powered cranes, or port handling equipment, or trucks with electric versions. In the construction sector meanwhile there is a growing realization that more sustainable building materials can lead to lower maintenance and energy costs. That is a game changer as it immediately makes investments more profitable as well as being better for the environment.”

Tunley is working with a wide variety of US companies to help them to decarbonize and make their operations more sustainable. Its client base includes ports such as Detroit and Indiana. In April the Detroit/Wayne County Port Authority revealed details of an ambitious program to dramatically improve air quality by cutting carbon emissions to net zero by 2040. The plan created with Tunley Environmental and funded by the State of Michigan, established that operations across the port region responsible for 27,869 metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent. Immediate actions highlighted in the plan to include the introduction of biodiesel, which emits 74 percent fewer emission than traditional diesel, and is compatible with most of the equipment used in the terminals today. Simultaneously, the plan advocates the transition to electric and hydrogen powered port equipment and trucks, as well as the continued research for a zero-emission replacement fuel for cargo ships.