Interest-free loan scheme hailed as a success as company urges more small firms to take advantage of energy efficiency scheme
Article by Business Green.com
The Carbon Trust’s interest-free loan scheme for small and medium-sized firms aiming to improve their energy efficiency broke the £60m barrier this week, as the organisation again reiterated calls for businesses to take advantage of the scheme.
The government-backed company said it has now issued £60m of unsecured interest-free loans through its Big Business Refit initiative, helping 1,847 businesses to invest in new, energy efficient equipment in the past year.
The Carbon Trust said that collectively the small and medium-sized businesses accessing loans had cut their annual fuel bills by £20m and reduced carbon emissions by 130,000 tonnes a year.
The scheme, which provides loans worth between £3,000 and £500,000 to a wide range of energy-saving projects such as LED lighting installations and insulation rollouts, was hailed as a success by entrepreneur and Dragon’s Den star Theo Paphitis.
“I’ve been saying it for a year now: helping firms buy the latest kit, so they can save on energy, while making themselves more competitive for future recovery, and cutting carbon emissions – it’s a no-brainer,” he said. “The fantastic thing about the Big Business Refit is that during some really tough times, it has provided SMEs with access to interest-free capital, giving thousands of businesses the confidence to keep going.”
The update came as the Carbon Trust released the results of a survey of about 400 senior finance executives, which found support for energy efficiency investment is rising. The poll revealed that four out of five finance directors believe investments in energy efficient equipment helps give their company a competitive advantage, while only six per cent said they are avoiding investment at all costs until the economic climate improves.
The picture contrasts sharply with similar research undertaken last autumn, which found that more than half of procurement decision-makers at smaller businesses planned to “make do and mend” with old equipment rather than replacing it.
“The significant increase in the uptake of our interest-free loans over the past financial year represents a win, win, win situation for SMEs,” said Hugh Jones, director of solutions at the Carbon Trust. “More than 1,800 firms have slashed their energy bills using interest-free cash to fund investments; plus more than 750 equipment suppliers have benefitted from increased sales generated by the support. And finally, it has provided a boost to cutting the UK’s carbon emissions.”
