A new pot available for sustainability projects
Some of the UK’s Regional Development Agencies (RDA) are handing out loans and grants in a bid to boost the green credentials of local businesses. What is your RDA doing and how can you get your hands on the cash?
What are RDAs?
Set up in 1999, the UK’s nine RDAs are now hugely competitive - fighting for domestic funding to support local businesses - and have worked hard to bring prosperity to the regions. But when it comes to providing funding to help some businesses go green, it’s a bit of a postcode lottery, with some RDAs doing more than others.
Lucky southerners
If you’re lucky enough to be based in the South East of England, your local RDA, SEEDA, is putting its money where its mouth is. A funding pot of £4m is up for grabs for those looking to set up projects that cut waste, energy or water use. As long as it’s used to improve their green credentials and they can afford to pay it back, companies can bid to borrow between £20,000 and £200,000.
Tip 1. If you’re interested in taking advantage of the South East Sustainability Loan Fund, you need to get in touch with Finance South East at SEEDA (see The next step).
Tip 2. Unlike the loans offered by the Carbon Trust, these are not interest-free; interest is payable at a commercial rate - the precise amount will depend on the amount you borrow. So you should only resort to these funds if the Carbon Trust can’t help you (see The next step).
Tip 3. As per usual, getting hold of the funding is not the easiest process. Before any cash is handed over, you’ll need to provide full details of the intended use, how much carbon will be saved and how long the payback will be. Also, money won’t be available to pay for projects that have already been completed.
What are the other RDAs offering?
If you’re in the East of England, East Midlands, West Midlands, North East, South West or London, you can really only access advisory services. Money is being channelled, primarily through local Business Link centres, to pay for business advisors to visit your site and offer guidance on what you can do to improve your environmental performance.
But if you’re based in Yorkshire and the Humber or the North West, cash is available. Like SEEDA, Yorkshire Forward and the Northwest Development Agency have established funding to help smaller businesses pay for investments in equipment that will help them go green (see The next step). A grant pot of £800,000 is up for grabs, allowing companies to bid for grants of between £1,000 and £100,000. However, CO2Sense, the organisation running the fund for Yorkshire Forward, expects SMEs to have tried to get private investment before applying.
In the North West a £4.4m grant is on offer. Any SME can apply, but the maximum level of grant available is 50% of the total cost of the green project - and this will only be granted where the firm can’t get support from the Carbon Trust.
Tip. This situation is likely to change at any time - the RDAs are constantly trying to secure funding. So keep an eye on your RDA website to see if money becomes available in your region.
For a link to Finance South East’s website (EN 04.09.05A), further information on the Carbon Trust loan scheme (EN 04.09.05B) and the Yorskshire RDA website (EN 04.09.05C), visit http://environment.indicator.co.uk.
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