Skip to content 
Electric Pedals: Introduction
We’re pleased to welcome Electric Pedals to the Play It Green community.
Founded by Colin Tonks, Electric Pedals creates human-powered energy systems that turn movement into real electricity in real time. The business designs and delivers pedal, crank and hybrid power systems for events, installations, exhibitions and brand activations. This makes them a brilliant fit for festivals, public spaces, live experiences and creative campaigns.
What makes Electric Pedals stand out is that it makes energy visible and participation part of the attraction. People do not just turn up and watch, but rather, they get involved, create power and become part of the experience itself. This gives events something memorable, practical and genuinely engaging.
Through our new partnership with Play It Green, Electric Pedals is now tying nature repair into sales and installations, helping commercial activity create a positive environmental impact. Colin has selected the Woodland Trust as his good cause for us to give 10% back to, which adds a strong connection to woods, wildlife and long-term care for the natural world.
We recently caught up with Colin to learn more about Electric Pedals, the thinking behind the business and what comes next for this incredibly innovative and creative business.
Please tell us a little about Electric Pedals and what you do.
We design and build human-powered energy systems that turn pedalling into real electricity in real time. Our work shows up at festivals, public events, exhibitions, schools, theatres and brand activations across the UK and beyond.
The flagship products are our Pedal-Powered Cinema, which lets an audience generate the power for the film they’re watching, and our Head to Head Energy Challenge, a competitive two-rider rig that gets people racing each other on a giant scoreboard.
We also build bespoke permanent installations for museums, visitor centres and schools. The thread running through everything is participation. We make energy something people can see, feel and take part in, rather than something abstract that happens out of sight.
Why is sustainability important to Electric Pedals?
The whole point of what we do is to make energy tangible. When somebody pedals to keep a film on screen, or fights to keep their bulb brighter than the rider next to them, they learn more about energy in five minutes than most of us pick up in years.
That understanding is the foundation of every conversation about climate, consumption and behaviour change. We’re a small operation, so we’re realistic about the scale of what one company can do, but we believe the cultural and educational side of sustainability is just as important as the technical side.
If our work shifts how people think about the energy they use, that is a meaningful contribution.
Why did you decide to join Play It Green?
We wanted a way to tie environmental impact directly into our commercial activity, rather than treating sustainability as a separate line item. Play It Green does that neatly. Every sale and installation can now contribute to nature repair, and the model is simple enough to explain to clients without it feeling like a marketing exercise.
What does the future hold for Electric Pedals?
The market is shifting and we’re evolving with it. Event budgets are tighter than they used to be, so we’re adapting our offer with leaner, more flexible packages and a sharper focus on the areas where demand is consistent.
Schools and universities are at the top of that list. There is real appetite for tech and STEM learning that puts children at the centre. We’re putting more development time into educational content, workshops and exhibits built for that audience.
The partnership with Play It Green sits alongside this neatly, because schools and clients increasingly want sustainability built in rather than bolted on.
Quotes
Electric Pedals Founder, Colin Tonks
“Joining Play It Green means every event and installation we deliver now contributes to something beyond the day itself. Which is better for people and for planet!”
Play It Green Founder, Richard Dickson
“What I like about Electric Pedals is that it makes energy something people can actually see, feel and take part in. Plenty of events want to be more engaging, and this gives them a smart way to do that with real creativity and purpose behind it. It’s a great way to show how energy is created and how renewables work. The fact that Colin is now tying nature repair into sales and installations makes the model even stronger, turning commercial activity into something that can create a positive impact.”
If you enjoyed this article on Electric Pedals, why not join them and become part of a community creating positive change by partnering with Play It Green?
We help you reduce your footprint, repair the planet, and regive to social causes that matter, all through simple, measurable actions that fit your life and business.
Modern employees, consumers, and investors want to see impact, not promises. With Play It Green, your sustainability journey becomes visible, credible, and rewarding.
Join us today and turn good intentions into lasting results.
