Arthur Kay (Entrepreneur)

Not to be confused with Arthur Kay (Musician)

British Entrepreneur

Arthur Kay (born 16 November 1990) is a British urban designer and entrepreneur.[1] He is known for his role as the founder of bio-bean,[2][3] a company specializing in coffee-waste recycling,[4] and Skyroom, a London-based construction company.[5][6]

## Early life and education[edit]

Arthur Kay was born and raised in London. He studied architecture at The Bartlett School of Architecture, UCL[7] and later entrepreneurship at Stanford Graduate School of Business.[8]

## Career[edit]

### bio-bean[edit]

In 2013, Arthur Kay established bio-bean,[9] a British waste recycling company, serving as its CEO until its acquisition in 2018.[10][11][12]

In 2014, the company received recognition and a £400,000 award as the winner of the Postcode Lottery Green Challenge contest.[13]

The launch of bio-bean's London collection service was officiated by Mayor Boris Johnson and Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith. The company's 40,000 sq ft factory, inaugurated in 2015, had the capacity to process 50,000 tones per year.[14]

In 2017, bio-bean collaborated with Shell, Argent Energy, and Transport for London to produce biodiesel from used coffee grounds.[15][16] This innovative initiative contributed to powering London's buses.[17][18][19][20]

Subsequently, bio-bean was acquired by Envar Composting Ltd, a notable UK-based bioenergy company.[21]

### Skyroom.[edit]

In 2018, Arthur Kay founded Skyroom, a London-based construction company specializing in the construction of houses atop existing buildings in London.[22][23] The reported purpose of this initiative is to address the housing crisis in the city.[24][25][26][27]

## References[edit]

1. ^ Smedley, Tim (2015-04-30). "Arthur Kay: Guardian sustainable business leader of the year 2015". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
2. ^ Journal, The Gentleman's. "Successful entrepreneurs under 30 - British | The Gentleman's Journal | Gentleman's Journal". The Gentleman's Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
3. ^ "This Man Wants To Power All Of London's Buses Using Coffee Grounds". HuffPost UK. 2016-04-16. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
4. ^ Chhabra, Esha. "Coffee Power: London Entrepreneur Uses the City's Coffee Waste for Fuel". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
5. ^ Jessel, Ella (2023-03-27). "The sky's the limit? Battle to build rooftop homes in London rages on". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
6. ^ "Arthur Kay | UN Global Compact". unglobalcompact.org. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
7. ^ Nast, Condé. "This man's factory is turning waste coffee into green energy". Wired UK. ISSN 1357-0978. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
8. ^ "The graduates turning their backs on the finance industry". www.worldfinance.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
9. ^ Schaffrath, Maiko. "The Coffee-Powered Economy: These Startups Turn Waste Into Useful Products". Forbes. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
10. ^ "bio-bean". nesta. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
11. ^ "Bio-Bean". Marketing Week. 2016-05-24. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
12. ^ Smedley, Tim (2014-02-13). "Waste coffee grounds set to fuel London with biodiesel and biomass pellets". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
13. ^ "Grant for coffee recycling business helping the environment". The Hunts Post. 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
14. ^ Zebra, The Plaid (2016-01-26). "This guy is turning old coffee grounds into biofuel and eliminating CO2 emissions". The Plaid Zebra. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
15. ^ "bio bean".
16. ^ foodnavigator.com (2017-11-21). "Bio-bean uses coffee to power buses in food waste fight". foodnavigator.com. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
17. ^ "JD Supra: Royal Dutch Shell, Bio-Bean Collaborate To Fuel London Buses". JD Supra. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
18. ^ "London buses to be powered by coffee". BBC News. 2017-11-19. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
19. ^ Guardian, The (2017-11-21). "Shell, bio-bean and coffee-drinkers collaborate to help power London's buses". The Guardian Nigeria News - Nigeria and World News. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
20. ^ "London's iconic red buses are about to start running on biofuel made from coffee". The Independent. 2017-11-20. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
21. ^ Louise (2023-07-06). "Envar Composting Ltd acquires Bio-Bean Ltd - Envar Composting Ltd". Retrieved 2023-11-20.
22. ^ "Bermondsey airspace plan will see new flats on top of old". www.theconstructionindex.co.uk. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
23. ^ "How Skyroom is helping landowners deliver housing in London - HM Land Registry". hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk. 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
24. ^ Jessel, Ella (2023-03-27). "The sky's the limit? Battle to build rooftop homes in London rages on". Evening Standard. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
25. ^ team, London SE1 website. "Architecture Foundation launches Skyroom high above Tooley Street". London SE1. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
26. ^ Waite, Richard (2020-11-25). "TDO wins approval for Skyroom's first 'airspace' homes scheme". The Architects’ Journal. Retrieved 2023-11-20.
27. ^ "How Skyroom is helping landowners deliver housing in London - HM Land Registry". hmlandregistry.blog.gov.uk. 2022-06-09. Retrieved 2023-11-20.