London’s First ‘Carbon-Negative Pub’ To Open This October

Could your next pint help save the planet? Uber thinks so. This October, the car-booking app is launching a pop-up pub, where drinkers can generate electricity while ‘sipping a beer in the saddle’. 

Uber Is Launching The 55k Tonnes Pop-Up

Opening for two days from 7 – 9 October, the 55k Tonnes pub is designed to demonstrate how kinetic technology can be used to create renewable energy. The space will feature Pavegen flooring which transforms footsteps into electrical power, alongside energy-generating power bikes. 

We’re told the beers, too, will be carbon-neutral: the pub will serve pints from Swell, a brewery in South London’s Gipsy Hill which makes lager from regeneratively grown, bio-diverse barley from Wildfarmed. Better still, a happy hour at 5.50pm will offer pints for a reasonable £5.50.

This is all well and good, but is the ‘carbon-negative’ tagline justified? An Uber spokeswoman told the Evening Standard: ‘We have worked with suppliers who operate at a carbon neutral/negative level and have kept this front of mind during the production of all elements, from the pot plants we have selected to the recyclable materials we’re using. The carbon footprint of the pub has also been offset to higher levels than carbon accrued, making it carbon-negative.

‘All the suppliers involved in the activity also have strong climate credentials. For instance, we worked with a B-Corp establishment for all printing used in the pub. For the exterior we have sourced sustainable, locally grown plants which not only have air purifying capabilities but are also perennials, being good for bees and butterflies in the area.’

The initiative aims to celebrate the 55,000 tonnes of air pollution that have been saved by Uber switching to electric cars. Andrew Brem, general manager at Uber UK, said: ‘In the UK pubs are where we exchange ideas and opinions, and what better way to promote a dialogue on electrification in the UK than with a carbon-negative pub. The opening of The 55k Tonnes in Westminster showcases Uber’s commitment to sustainability in London and beyond.’

The 55k Tonnes will be open from 1 – 10.30pm on 7 – 9 October 2024 at 46 Great Peter St, London, SW1P 2HA. uber.com