Understand sustainability
If you are just getting started, you might need sustainability training.
There are free, online platforms to help you to understand energy efficiency and how you can make small changes to cut your costs and conserve water. There are also programmes if you want to know more about enhancing your broader sustainability knowledge and skills.
Energy providers, be that gas, electricity or solid fuels, meanwhile have an obligation to help you to decarbonise. If you want a more tailored approach for your business specifically, you should contact your Local Enterprise Office or visit the National Enterprise Hub.
Assess your business
Once you understand what’s involved, you can assess what your options are.
The Climate Toolkit 4 Business gives you a simple estimate of your carbon footprint and generates a personalised action plan to help you to reduce your emissions and energy costs. Alternatively you can get a grant for an energy audit of your business.
Invest in becoming sustainable
When you’re ready to invest, there are several government grants and loans to help you do so in as cost-effective way as possible.
There are grants available to:
There are also long-term low-cost loans to bridge the gap between the grant and full cost of the investment as well as tax incentives for investing in energy saving technology.