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10 January 2012 | Helen Gilbert
Small businesses in Yorkshire and Humberside
are being offered the chance to take part in a scheme that will help them
reduce their carbon footprint.
The CO2Sense Environment Voucher initiative
gives firms two days of free consultancy to help them deliver an action plan to
show them where they could be making cost and carbon savings.
The not-for-profit business development
programme enables companies to get up to £8,000 investment for up to 50 per
cent of the cost of equipment to help them use less water and energy, improve
their waste processes, generate clean energy or work with their supply chain to
reduce the carbon footprint of their products and services.
Last September SM reported that more than
half of UK companies will drop suppliers in the future
if they fail to get carbon emissions under control.
A spokesman for the
not-for-profit consultancy said: “Larger organisations are encouraging
companies that they buy from to mange their carbon footprint. You can make a
lot of savings by putting better equipment in.”
Since the scheme was launched in July 2011,
more than 100 businesses have successfully applied for investment and
consultancy that will allow them to save a total of £147,000 and 358 tonnes of
CO2. Now up to 100 more are being given the chance to take part.
Matt Hill, CO2Sense senior consultant,
added, “The Environment Voucher offers all sorts of businesses the opportunity
to make real changes that will bring significant cost and carbon savings for
their business. We have helped over 100 businesses already, but we want to help
100 more take advantage of these opportunities.”