Sponsored Going Green for Business: Save money, reduce bills, and access free, sustainable solutions
The programme offers expert consultancy, a ‘green’ audit and an implementation plan, all free of charge to eligible businesses. Once this has been completed, they can then apply for an Energy Efficiency Grant of up to €10,000 to help pay for the changes The grant is now double what was previously available and comes with an improved government contribution of 75%.
We’ve always had a fantastic relationship with LEO Waterford, and they have been a great support from day one With this in mind, he approached his Local Enterprise Office , got started on the Green for Business Programme and was delighted to be approved for an Energy Efficiency Grant which has not only seen the coffee roasting business advance its own environmental goals, but has also afforded them huge energy savings.
Claire Burke of Hatched Analytics in Dublin says that the company has also had a lot of support from its Local Enterprise Office, affording it the opportunity to ‘employ at a big scale’ and says that following a decision to look at improving carbon footprint, they sought advice and after completing the necessary Green for Business programme, were ‘lucky to be offered’ a grant to help make improvements going forward.
“One of the main challenges we had was that our energy bills had increased three times what it was before,” he said. “So we contacted our Local Enterprise Office who informed us that we could qualify for Green for Business and after a consultant went through everything with us, we were very surprised to learn that older equipment costs more to run.
“The Green for Business audit, which is completely free, is carried out by a green consultant and gives the business a range of easily-deliverable actions that help reduce costs and improve sustainability,” he said. “The business can go online, and they’ll have the application completed in less than a minute! The Local Enterprise Office takes it from there, and we will work around the business to ensure it works for them.