14th June 2025
Strong demand by businesses for energy efficiency grants in 2025
The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke today welcomed new research which shows four in five businesses (83%) believe sustainability is important to them on a day-to-day basis. The finding is part of a survey of over 300 SMEs carried out on behalf of the Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment by Amárach Research to identify what factors motivate small and micro businesses to become more sustainable.
The research shows that not only do a large majority of SMEs think sustainability is important, many have already taken steps to become so. Almost two in three (63%) of the businesses surveyed had addressed their waste, two in five their water usage (41%), and nearly half (49%) had taken steps to address energy efficiency.
Minister Burke said it was particularly encouraging to see the number of companies which had already taken action to become more sustainable:
“There is money available from the Government to help businesses to cut their costs and become more sustainable. I’d urge any small or micro enterprise to contact either their Local Enterprise Office (LEO) or the Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) and talk to them about the grants available which can make them more sustainable and competitive.
“The LEO’s Energy Efficiency Grant will cover three quarters of the cost of items such as new energy efficient equipment, smart control or heat recovery systems. So far this year alone 296 small businesses have availed of grants worth €2.45 million in total. Last year 289 businesses received grants worth €2.28m.
“The SEAI’s Business Energy Upgrades Scheme meanwhile funds energy efficient and renewable measures in commercial buildings and since its launch in November 2024, 102 applications have been approved totalling €2.39m in grant funding”, said Minister Burke.
Just over one in three of the organisations surveyed had a written sustainability strategy in place. That figure rises for medium (48%) and large (73%) sized organisations and falls to just one in four (24%) for micro and small firms.
Minister of State for Small Business and Retail and Circular Economy Alan Dillon said the Government had supports in place to help SMEs put a plan in place:
“The SEAI, the LEOs and Enterprise Ireland (EI) offer grants to businesses to get advice on how to identify and act on energy-saving opportunities. This is really worthwhile doing as it gives SMEs a starting point and a plan.
“I was also really pleased to see the high level of awareness about the Circular Economy (75%) in this survey, which is a core part of making Irish businesses more sustainable. Companies that embrace circularity by considering the full life cycle of their products can cut costs and will gain a competitive edge in both EU and global markets. To learn more, I strongly encourage business to investigate two state-funded supports – MODOS from the LEO network, which is now taking registrations for circular economy training in the autumn and Circuléire, which delivers wrap-around support for sustainable manufacturing.”
The research findings are published on enterprise.gov.ie, and more information on the supports available to businesses is available from the National Enterprise Hub.
Notes To Editor
This research was undertaken in November 2024.
https://mywaste.ie/dispose-waste/in-your-workplace/modos-circular-economy-training/
ENDS
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