A Sheffield-based manufacturer of environmentally friendly desktop computers has become the first company to help small to medium-sized companies replace their old personal computers (PC) with energy efficient ones using the Carbon Trust’s ‘Big Business Refit ‘scheme.
VeryPC manufactures the
Broadleaf, a sustainable
desktop PC that is built using no polyvinyl chlorides (PVCs), brominated flame retardants (BFRs) or other toxic materials and is the only PC to be endorsed by the Energy Saving Trust’s ‘Energy Saving Recommended’ scheme.
The company has entered into an agreement with lease finance specialist Evolution Funding to replace its old PCs with Broadleaf PCs using the Carbon Trust’s
The Big Business Refit. The scheme, which was launched last year, offers UK
small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) between £3,000 to £500,000 in Government-funded interest-free
loans to help replace older, inefficient equipment.
Evolution Funding expected to save £1,800 a yearUnder the scheme, Evolution Funding has purchased 11 VeryPC BroadLeaf machines in a deal that is expected to save the lease finance company nearly £1,800 a year in energy bills.
The Carbon Trust interest free loans are designed to pay for themselves over one to four years through direct energy savings, so that once the loans are repaid savings go straight onto the bottom line.
Jeremy Levine from Evolution Funding said: “We worked with VeryPC to successfully obtain a zero per cent loan of over £5,000 from the Carbon Trust, payable over four years to finance our PC upgrade.
“The machines were installed swiftly and are already generating energy savings. We expect the energy savings will easily exceed the monthly repayments on the loan so in effect the machines will pay for themselves. It’s a fantastic deal for a business like ours that wants to minimise cost while reducing our
carbon footprint,” he said.
IT accounts for 40 per cent of energy consumed by small businessAccording to research conducted by Leeds Metropolitan University
IT typically accounts for almost 40 per cent of the energy consumed by a small business. Peter Hopton, chief executive and founder of VeryPC, therefore says, “upgrading to more energy efficient PCs and servers can make a massive difference to a company’s energy usage.
“Given the current economic landscape, this deal not only provides an easy way for businesses to finance their IT renewal programmes, it also helps radically reduce their energy consumption for longer term savings.”
The Big Business Refit scheme was launched last August to make £100 million in loans available and offer SMEs advice to help reduce their energy bills by replacing old, inefficient equipment with new,
energy efficient models. It is expected to help up to 3000 SMEs reduce their annual energy bills and save at least 1.5 tonnes of CO2 emissions per £1,000 borrowed.
Hugh Jones, director, Solutions at the Carbon Trust, said: “Evolution Funding’s use of a Carbon Trust loan to pay for the installation of their VeryPC Broadleaf systems has created a win-win situation. Evolution Funding has slashed its energy spend without having to spend company cash upfront on the installation. We’d urge all other businesses to check their eligibility for the £100 million fund available, and to start saving money now.”
In order to help other SMEs take advantage of The Big Business Refit scheme when replacing their PCs, VeryPC is offering a service to help customers estimate possible savings, and assist with the loan application.
Related news:Green grants & funding newsGreen IT newsEnergy efficiency newsRelated links:www.bigbusinessrefit.co.uk www.energysavingcomputers.comwww.energysavingtrust.org.uk/comparewww.very-pc.co.uk