BCC encourages SMEs to introduce energy efficiency measures

Peta Hodge

16th February 2010

The British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) is encouraging more small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to introduce energy efficiency measures by promoting interest-free, unsecured loans from the Carbon Trust to it members.

The BCC is advising SMEs to use the loans – which can be for anything from £3,000 to £500,000 to invest in energy-saving projects that will help accelerate economic recovery and generate growth.

Carbon Trust loans for energy saving projects are exclusively for SMEs and other businesses not covered by the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme and typically achieve annual savings of between £14,000 and £130,000 a year for the businesses that take advantage of them.

The BCC is promoting the availability of the loans through a new web portal, which also highlights other energy efficiency support available to SMEs, such as free energy surveys.

Commenting on the initiative, David Frost, director general of the BCC said: “We must give British businesses every opportunity to invest, create jobs and drive our economic recovery.”

He added: “By replacing old inefficient equipment, firms can dramatically cut costs and in many cases, improve productivity by between 20 to 30 per cent.

“For businesses that rely on energy-intensive equipment, borrowing big from the Carbon Trust to refit with energy saving equipment can really pay off.”

Indeed, the Carbon Trust recently announced that the first company to take the new maximum loan of £500,000 is expected to cut its indirect electricity use by more than 60 per cent.

IT firm Blue Chip to cut energy bills by more than £100,000 a year

Bedford-based IT support company, Blue Chip used the loan to buy cutting-edge, energy efficient cooling equipment for its data centre. The new equipment is expected to provide energy savings of more than £100,000 a year, enabling the company to pay off the loan within four years.

Tom Delay, ceo of the Carbon Trust agreed that the business case for taking its loans is compelling: “Small and medium businesses are the backbone of the UK economy and key to the move to the low carbon world. We are extending a helping hand to them by offering more than £100 million in interest-free, unsecured loans at a time when bank funding is hard to come by.

“Our zero per cent loan offer is as close to free money as a business can get, and is flexible enough to help almost any small or medium business, from the corner fish and chip shop to a factory.”

Senior policy adviser at the BCC, Gareth Elliott, said that his organisation was working with the Carbon Trust to help with its focus on the SME sector, which accounts for a significant proportion of business energy usage.

He added that whereas larger companies often have whole departments dedicated to corporate social responsibility issues such as environmental impact, it can be harder for SMEs to address such issues without external support.