With COP26 well underway, everyone has got carbon reduction on their mind and for businesses in Derby, help is at hand to make carbon reduction a reality.
Over the past five years, the DE-Carbonise project has given £1.5m in grants to help businesses reduce their energy and resource use and carbon emissions. The measures funded by the grants to date save a minimum of 1,750 tonnes of carbon emissions and £600,000 per year in business costs.
The project provides free advice and grants of between £1,000 and £20,000 to enable small and medium sized businesses to implement carbon saving measures within their premises and business activities. This includes improvements to heating, lighting, insulation, equipment, materials, waste and water management, solar panels, electric vehicles and charge points.
There is still £300,000 of grant money left to award to eligible Derby businesses by the middle of next year. Grants are given on a first-come, first-served basis so any businesses interested in DE-Carbonise support should get in touch as soon as possible via the project webpages. The grant covers up to 40% of the total cost of works (excluding VAT), depending on the carbon saving calculated by the project team.
The team has also carried out 650 carbon reduction audits so far and is currently working with another 140 businesses in the region, providing free, no-obligation advice on how best to reduce their carbon emissions.
Councillor Steve Hassall, Cabinet Member for Regeneration, Decarbonisation & Strategic Planning & Transport, said: “The DE-Carbonise project is doing great work helping local businesses make significant improvements to their carbon footprint.
“It is incumbent on us all to do everything we can to help drive down carbon emissions and any changes and improvements we can make, no matter how small are a step in the right direction.
“There is support on offer from business reviews and technical support and with COP26 happening in Glasgow, I’d urge all the SMEs in the city to think about getting in touch and seeing what they can do.”
Philip Mason, Production Director at Tidyco, a Derby business who accessed support and a grant from the De-Carbonise team, added: “The assistance we received has made the grant process seamless and ensured that our unit has the latest low carbon lighting and efficient heating, which saves money and the environment.”
The project is a partnership between the University of Derby, Derby City Council and Derbyshire County Council and is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020.
Pictured: Philip Mason, Production Director at Tidyco with their recently installed LED lighting, destratification fans and efficient heater. The company is now preparing to install a solar photovoltaic system on the roof of this unit to generate zero carbon electricity for use on site. They had a grant of £11,082; the energy efficient technologies they have installed will save over 7.5 tonnes of carbon emissions and almost £3,000 per year.
