Thirteen small businesses have benefitted from £20,000 grant funding from West Sussex County Council to help reduce their energy costs.
Delivered in partnership with the Sustainable Business Partnership CIC and RE:Start Local, the measures are expected to reduce the businesses’ annual energy costs by £16,519, carbon emissions by 72.2 tonnes and energy consumption by 139,314 kWh.
Twelve of the 13 projects were to install LED lighting, which provide energy and carbon savings.
County Council Leader Louise Goldsmith, (pictured) who has responsibility for economy, said: “We provided the funding for this grants scheme to help small local businesses reduce their carbon footprint and improve their profitability. A knock-on benefit was that the majority of applicants used local contractors to install the works, providing additional benefit to the local economy.
“Boosting the economy is a priority of the County Council under its Future West Sussex plan, and this scheme shows how a small amount of funding can help make a big difference to businesses in our local area.”
The one-off grants scheme was open to businesses with fewer than 50 employees, who were able to apply for up to £2,000.
The Sustainable Business Partnership supported businesses by providing guidance to them and helping calculate the potential savings from their project.
Fine Cut Graphic Imaging Ltd in Lancing was able to reduce the number of lighting fittings they needed when replacing them with LED panels. Environmental Manager Tim Weeks said: “If updating LEDs, take the opportunity to assess whether light fittings are in the right place and light levels are correct for the area. Removing excessive tubes doubled the energy saving we would have achieved through just replacing lamps with like-for-like LED equivalents.”
Their project is expected to save more than 14,000 kWh of electricity and £1,800 per year.
For details of current energy efficiency grant programmes, businesses can contact the Sustainable Business Partnership CIC, a not-for-profit organisation, on 01273 964239 or via www.sustainablebusiness.org.uk.