Carbon Trust launches fund to cut costs for businesses

The Carbon Trust has launched a Green Business Fund aimed to cut costs and save energy for British businesses. It will provide grant funding to replace old energy inefficient equipment and to provide advice to small medium enterprises in England, Scotland and Wales.

The fund has a worth of £7 million and has been made available to SMEs on a first come first served basis. Eligible companies can apply for a capital grant of up to 15% of the cost of the energy efficiency improvement of equipment cost, up to a maximum of £10,000.

The scheme is expected to support 1,000 to 2,000 small businesses. In turn the investment made by businesses of £55 million is estimated to deliver costs of almost £130 million.

Hugh Jones, Managing Director, Advisory, at the Carbon Trust says:

“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. 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.”