Getting Down to Green Business

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21 April 2016 | Updated 01 January 1970

A new fund providing ‘vital’ capital for smaller businesses to replace old, power guzzling equipment, together with expert advice to boost the efficiency and productivity of businesses in England, Scotland and Wales is now available from the Carbon Trust.

The £7 million fund has been made available to SMEs on a first come first served basis and will offer energy saving training, cost saving assessments, implementation advice, and capital support for the installation of energy efficiency equipment. Eligible companies can apply for a capital contribution to cover up to 15% of an energy efficiency project or equipment replacement cost up to a maximum of £10,000. 

The fund can also be used to purchase a range of equipment, including energy efficient lighting, HVAC and energy efficiency controls across a range of business sectors, including manufacturing, retail and hospitality. 

The scheme is expected to support 1,000-2,000 smaller businesses across England, Scotland and Wales and is predicted to enable participating businesses to invest £55 million in energy saving projects which would deliver them lifetime energy savings of almost £130 million.  

The programme will focus on high quality implementation to ensure the best energy efficiency opportunities are fully realised. 

“Our experience of working with thousands of companies across the UK indicates that year-on-year savings of 20% to 30% can be delivered through action on energy efficiency,” explained Hugh Jones, MD, Advisory, Carbon Trust. “We’d encourage smaller companies to apply to make the most of the fund on offer in order to realise significant savings on their bottom line.”

New research of senior decision makers within SMEs released at the same time as the scheme found that almost half (46%) are concerned about the amount they currently spend on energy:

• 37% of businesses nationwide would like to take more action to their improve energy efficiency.
• Lack of money to invest in new energy saving equipment and lack of affordable options to improve energy efficiency rank as the largest barriers for businesses to improve their energy efficiency (23% for each). 

 To date, the Carbon Trust claims it has saved British business £5.5 billion and 55m tons of CO2 through advice and financial support.

Picture:   A Green Business Fund has been launched this week by the Carbon Trust

Article written by Robin Snow | Published 21 April 2016

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