by Jbs091109 3h — September 14, 2009—The U.K.’s Carbon Trust is launching a new program in September 2009 to help thousands of small and medium-sized businesses drive down their costs by as much as 40 million. The Big Business Refit will offer SMEs expert advice and financial support to slash their energy costs by scrapping old, inefficient equipment and replacing it with new, energy-efficient models.
The program follows a recession-driven surge in demand for the Carbon Trust’s interest-free business loans. In the first six months of 2009, hundreds of SMEs from bakeries to plastics factories were given loans at zero interest to equip their businesses with the latest energy-saving technology. As a result, they are saving an average of 14,000 each on their annual energy bills—a collective total of almost 6 million a year, says Carbon Trust.
SMEs can also benefit from free energy-saving assessments from a Carbon Trust expert and a tailored action plan that identifies the savings that could be made by replacing energy-guzzling equipment.
The Carbon Trust’s unsecured, interest-free loans can be used for equipment replacements costing between 3,000 and 400,000. The loans are designed to pay for themselves through direct energy savings, so that once the loan is repaid, savings go straight to the bottom line. With a total of 100 million in loans available, the Big Business Refit is expected to help up to 3,000 U.K. SMEs save a total of 40 million off their annual energy costs.
The top choices among the small and medium businesses that have taken a Carbon Trust loan in the first six months of 2009 are: new, energy-efficient lighting and lighting controls; replacement air compressors, used for powering pneumatic tools; and mechanized materials handling equipment, such as cranes, which are used to load heavy equipment.
