Businesses in qualifying areas of the East Midlands are being encouraged to take advantage of the fully funded business support on offer from the Accelerator project to help them improve energy efficiency and save costs.
To date, nearly 1,200 businesses have attended the project’s energy efficiency and carbon reduction events and training courses, with 146 accessing the Premises Energy Audit consultancy service and 132 developing decarbonisation plans.
The project, delivered by East Midlands Chamber on behalf of participating local authorities, is funded by the UK government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund (UKSPF). It offers businesses:
- Premises Energy audits designed to help identify energy efficiency improvements and opportunities to reduce costs. Audits typically involve a one-to-three-day site visit (depending on the size or complexity of the business) to review energy usage assets and gas/electric consumption pattern (as well as fuel consumption for businesses with a large fleet of vehicles). Findings are collated into an energy savings report which not only helps reduce energy wastage but is useful supporting evidence for grant applications.
- £2,000 Growth vouchers towards the cost of specialist consultancy or bespoke training supporting the adoption of energy efficient practices that lead towards the development or implementation of a decarbonisation plan.
- Training, both in-person and online, to help businesses gain green business skills and plan their journey towards carbon neutrality, including the one-day certified course on Carbon Literacy taking place on Tuesday, 21st January.
- Energy reduction workshops at Toyota Motor Manufacturing offering practical demonstration and shop floor observations with Toyota’s energy specialists, the next of which takes place on Thursday, 13th
- Access to online sustainability platform Zellar to help showcase the real-time environmental impact of activities and to produce a decarbonisation plan.
East Midlands Chamber Deputy Chief Executive Diane Beresford said: “The environmental benefits of reducing your carbon footprint are well documented but there are much wider advantages for your business. It helps you become legislation compliant, supports your procurement and tendering processes, builds resilience and, of course, reduces costs.
“From bite-sized webinars to accredited training, premises energy audits and consultancy funding, the Accelerator project is helping businesses in very practical ways to save costs and energy and become greener and more resilient.
“For any business that has yet to take advantage of the Accelerator project, I would urge them to do so before the project ends in March.”
Businesses interested in signing up for support can do so by completing the relevant Expression of Interest form at: www.emc-dnl.co.uk/accelerator.
Businesses already benefitting from decarbonisation support from the Accelerator project include:
Hoe Grange Holidays, Derbyshire Dales
Hoe Grange Holidays was set up in 2005 by David and Felicity Brown as a diversification development to provide additional income to support their dairy farm. The Brassington site offers sustainable tourism accommodation with four lodges, two glamping pods and a traditional Gypsy caravan.
The business’s diligence in using renewable energy fed back through ground and air source heating systems is helping it progress to its target of a negative carbon footprint (not just Net Zero). To support this further, Chamber Business Adviser Andy Bunn provided access to a full premises energy audit to help the business identify where and when energy was being used and how best to reduce reliance on the National Grid supply.
Andy also supported them in preparing their application for a decarbonisation grant from the Council, which was approved in the summer, and has led to the installation of extra solar panels and a battery storage system.
The new installations have had a huge impact on the business. The business has already managed to reduce reliance on imported electricity by around 60% and is taking advantage of a cheap rate, night-time tariff. This is leading to savings of £800-£1,000 per month.
Hoe Grange Holidays Co-owner David Brown said: “The energy audit helped confirm our expectations and the advice from Andy ensured the process of applying was made as simple as possible. Without the aid of grant funding, we would have been unlikely to have proceeded with this project for some considerable time, if at all.”
Blue Stamp Travel, Gedling
As a business whose unique offer is built around travel, Blue Stamp Travel suffered major disruption as a result of COVID, in both operations and revenue. Despite uncertain times, it has built back and is now predicting its best-ever revenue year.
Keeping an eagle eye on costs has become more important than ever following the business’s recent relocation to the old bank hall in Daybrook. This 100-year-old building certainly offers real opportunities when it comes to improving energy efficiency. A fully funded energy audit gave the business the evidence needed to successfully apply for a decarbonisation grant from Gedling Borough Council.
Blue Stamp Travel Managing Director Steve Manderson said: “During the original renovations, 22 solar panels were installed with the intention of adding a battery later down the line. A battery has now been installed and already the property is 100% off-grid with surplus energy being exported to the grid. Financially, this will make a difference from day 1 and the investment will be repaid very quickly. Equally importantly, the environmental impact of creating green energy is very satisfying.
“The other area identified for improvements at ‘The Old Bank’ was replacement doors with better insulation. These have been ordered and will be installed very soon, improving the quality of the workspace as well as providing an environmental benefit, reducing the amount of heating needed.”
Old Rectory Spa, Newark & Sherwood
The Old Rectory Spa is a family-run wellbeing retreat providing holistic health treatments and exclusive spa experiences.
The spa opened its doors in 2022 in the middle of a cost-of-living and energy crisis. Not only did this directly affect customer spending, it meant the business faced a sizeable increase in its heating and electricity bills. The Accelerator funded a full energy audit of the business and has become a key part of the business’s decarbonisation plan and sustainability strategy.
The business has already undertaken practical steps such as removing the use of unnecessary single-use items and exploring the installation of solar panels and individual heat pumps for the hot tubs.
Through the installation of the heat pumps, the hope is that, per annum, the business can save approximately two thirds of their hot tub power consumption. An average hot tub costs approximately £100 per month to run with the current energy prices. Air Source Heat Pumps can reduce this by 50-60% in the winter and more in the summer, achieving an anticipated saving of between £1,400 – £1,600 per annum. This will also equate to a significant energy saving, allowing the business to move closer to its goal of becoming a sustainable business.
With support from Chamber Business Adviser Richard Crowden, the spa has also benefitted from a number of further Accelerator interventions including a Growth Voucher enabling the business to work with a local brand consultancy to raise awareness of the spa and grow revenue.
