£717,000 of energy efficiency funding awarded by the Carbon Trust

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09 May 2006

The Carbon Trust recognises trade and professional bodies leading carbon emission reduction throughout their industries

The Carbon Trust today announced the names of twelve organisations who have been awarded grants of up to £150,000, as part of an initiative which encourages industry sectors to cut their carbon emissions. Through working with trade and professional bodies, trade unions and other industry organisations, the Carbon Trust’s Networks Programme helps businesses to reduce carbon emissions and help to tackle climate change.


All applicants had to produce a detailed plan showing how their initiative would deliver demonstrable carbon emissions savings, and successful project bids range from an awareness campaign aimed at the trade union movement to specific energy efficiency projects in the pig-farming sector and on food-canning sites. The original call for applications for this wave of funding from the Carbon Trust’s Networks Programme was made in November 2005.

The organisations receiving between £100,000 and £150,000 in funding are:

  • The TUC
  • Hospitality, Catering and International Management Association (HCIMA)
  • Food and Drink Federation
  • National Microelectronics Institute

The organisations receiving up to £20,000 in funding are:

  • Institute of Refrigeration
  • Airport Operators Association
  • Cold Storage and Distributions Federation
  • Food and Drink Federation
  • Building Controls Industry Association
  • UK Social Investment Forum
  • Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineer (CIBSE)
  • Meat and Livestock Commission
  • Co-operatives UK

Karen Germain, Networks Manager at the Carbon Trust, said, “Our work with trade and professional bodies is an important part of our overall role in helping businesses and public sector organisations cut carbon emissions. This wave of funding will contribute to a variety of initiatives which in total amount to more than £1.13 million pounds, and we look forward to supporting the individual industries as they strive to cut carbon emissions.”

The next round of applications for the Networks Programme will open in autumn 2006. Interested organisations should visit www.carbontrust.co.uk/networks to find out more details about how the initiative works.


 
 
Footnotes
 

Notes to Editors

More detail on the projects receiving funds follows below.

Awareness raising campaigns

The TUC will run the “Green Workplaces” initiative, which aims to use the British trade union movement to address climate change and energy issues in the workplace and in key energy using sectors.

CIBSE will use the funding to conduct a series of site visits throughout the UK to promote the environmental and commercial benefits of CHP installation to designers, planners and developers.

The Airport Operations Association will use the money they receive to raise awareness about, and membership of, their carbon management group, which works to raise awareness of energy and carbon reduction opportunities throughout existing and potential member airports.

The Food and Drink Federation are concentrating on reducing the carbon emissions produced by refrigeration processes by championing cost effective ways to cut down the electricity used by refrigeration equipment. In another project, they will also investigate a number of food canning sites to review the opportunities for heat recovery and to investigate the use of electricity and cooling water.

The UK Social Investment Forum’s project will work to accelerate the acquisition of low carbon assets like business equipment by both mainstream business and the voluntary sector.

HCIMA’s Hospitable Climates will use their funding to provide managers in hospitality businesses with technical guidance on energy efficiency, as well as training.

The Meat and Livestock Commission is to focus on improving energy consumption in the pig farming sector through education programmes and training.

Technical guidance and toolkits

The National Microelectronics Institution is to develop a toolbox which will help its members evaluate the efficiency of their air conditioning systems and identify areas for improvement and cost savings. The Buildings Controls Industry Association will also produce best practice guidance for its members.

Similarly, the Institute of Refrigeration will create a toolkit to assess the efficiency of equipment and the Cold Storage and Distributions Federation is to improve the energy efficiency of cold stores used to hold frozen food.

Co-operatives UK will create a toolkit to help its members assess their energy use and carbon footprint, and then work with them to design and implement a detailed carbon emissions strategy.

The Carbon Trust

  • The Carbon Trust works with UK business and the public sector to cut carbon emissions and develop commercial low carbon technologies. An independent company set up by Government to help the UK meet its climate change obligations, the Carbon Trust creates practical business-focused solutions to carbon emission reduction on energy efficiency, carbon management, and investment. 
  • The Carbon Trust's annual funding is in excess of £69m in grants from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), the Scottish Executive, the Welsh Assembly Government and Invest NI.
  • The Carbon Trust also promotes the Enhanced Capital Allowance (ECA) Scheme for energy saving investments on behalf of Defra and manages the associated Energy Technology List. This ECA scheme is a tax relief that enables businesses to claim 100% first-year capital allowances on investments in energy saving equipment listed on the approved Energy Technology List. Further details on qualifying products and ECAs are available at www.carbontrust.co.uk/eca

Further information
Call the Carbon Trust press office on 020 7544 3100.