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Energy Management
Putting a stop to power-guzzling
The Carbon Trust has launched The Big Business Refit – a new scrappage scheme for
inefficient equipment – to help UK businesses save energy
B
ritish businesses are being forced to ‘make do and mend’ with The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), the Institute of Directors
old, inefficient equipment, as over half (52%), don’t have the (IoD), the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC), the Mayor of London,
cash for upgrades. According to the Carbon Trust, 60% of small and the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have all
and medium-sized businesses wait until equipment breaks down pledged their support for the Carbon Trust’s Big Business Refit.
before replacing it; costing businesses £3.3bn a year in wasted
energy. The figures, from a survey of 1,500 small and medium-sized Strong support
businesses, were revealed at the launch of the Carbon Trust’s Big “Small businesses are in a unique position to adopt energy efficiency
Business Refit campaign, by Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis. measures more easily and quickly than their larger counterparts. The
The Big Business Refit aims to help businesses to scrap their old support of the Carbon Trust can help small businesses play their part
power-guzzling equipment and replace it with equipment that’s in being energy efficient and cutting costs,” David Caro, FSB Energy &
more efficient and cheaper to run. It provides guidance, plus financial Environment chairman.
support in the form of £100m interest free funding, which can be “In the current downturn cash is king and the first place struggling
paid back through the energy savings the new equipment delivers. businesses should look to redeem cash is in their business premises
where it’s possible to eliminate energy wastage. The Carbon Trust
loans scheme offers a practical solution for business survival through
energy efficiency and we’d encourage businesses across the UK to
take advantage of the funding available,” Gareth Elliott, senior
environment policy adviser, British Chambers of Commerce.
“This is a fantastic scheme both for London's businesses and the
environment and we will be promoting it later this year through the
London Development Agency's business support services, such as
Business Link,” Mayor of London, Boris Johnson.
“We’re helping small businesses survive the recession by providing
a practical solution to save a total of £40million from energy bills.
Replacing old equipment with energy efficient versions will also
reduce carbon emissions, combating global warming,” David Kidney,
Energy and Climate Change minister.
The Carbon Trust’s loans can be used for equipment replacements
“The Big Business Refit calls on all UK businesses to scour their costing between £3,000 and £400,000. The loans are designed to pay
premises for old equipment, from air conditioning, to fridges, for themselves through direct energy savings. With a total of £100m
compressors to factory machinery,” explains Paphitis.“With interest- in funding available, the Big Business Refit is expected to help up to
free funding available to replace equipment, giving average energy 3,000 UK SMEs save a total of £40m from their annual energy costs.
savings of 15%, and no security required, it’s an unbelievable deal.” For advice, a free energy saving assessment, or to apply for interest
The Big Business Refit runs until 31 March 2010. It offers advice on free funding, call the number in the box below, or visit
identifying old equipment and guidance on suitable replacements in
www.bigbusinessrefit.co.uk
42563 or
cleaning-matters.co.uk/enquiry
clinics in London, Birmingham, Manchester and Belfast.
Tel: 01865 885879
Our survey says
The Carbon Trust survey shows that around half of businesses are
Energy Efficiency loans are available to businesses meeting one, or
missing out on the opportunity to reduce bottom line costs through
both, of the following criteria:
energy efficiency:
• Companies that meet the EU definition of a small or medium-
• Over half (57%) have resorted to staff cuts to save cash.
sized enterprise, i.e. companies with less than 250 employees
• Nearly half (46%) are unaware that they can cut energy costs by
and a turnover of less than €50m (around £42m at today’s
replacing old equipment.
exchange rate).
• Nearly half (41%) have accepted higher energy bills as a fixed cost,
• Companies that are not eligible to participate in the Carbon
preferable to paying the upfront cost of replacing old equipment.
Reduction Commitment, i.e. companies consuming less than
One business that has already saved by scrapping its old
6,000MWh of half hourly metered electricity. This typically
equipment is Yorkshire-based Flexible Packaging Printers, Roberts
equates to an annual electricity spend of £500,000.
Mart & Co.“We’ve taken advantage of two Carbon Trust loans,
All loans are unsecured, interest-free and repayable over a period
totalling over £300,000, to replace printing press drying systems, a
of up to 4 years. The minimum loan size has recently been reduced
boiler and lighting,” says Ben Roberts, sales director.“As a result, we’re
from £5,000 to £3,000 and the maximum size has increased from
saving around £130,000 a year on our energy bills, plus around 900
£200,000 to £400,000 to help more businesses secure funding in
tonnes of CO
2
. The Carbon Trust loans scheme has been a simple and
the recession. There are no arrangement fees and applying is
effective way for us to modernise our business, and reduce costs in
straightforward.
www.carbontrust.co.uk/loans
the recession.”
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