Local businesses

What can you do as a local business?

1. Free advice on making your business more sustainable

Cool Shropshire & Telford is an online self-service platform provided by Shropshire, and Telford & Wrekin, Councils to SME’s understand the current environmental performance of their business, and identify low-cost, low-effort step changes.

Or email info@e4environment.co.uk to find out more.

2. Sign up to a carbon literacy workshop for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs)

To help you understand where the opportunities lie within your business, you can engage in some education on what you could do as a small business. This includes how to calculate your carbon footprint, what the difference between Scope 1, 2 and 3 is, and what you can do about each. You could think about how to make sure your suppliers are “eco-friendly” and what you may have to do to continue supplying some of your customers who may ask you to reduce your carbon footprint. Depending on the size of your business, you may even need to change your governmental reporting. Save Our Shropshire offers a relevant course to SMEs

3. Get financial support to make your business premises more energy efficient

Get financial support with energy efficiency and renewable energy measures

The Marches Energy Grant (MEG) scheme provides SMEs from all sectors with free advice, energy assessments and grants for energy efficiency and renewable energy measures across Herefordshire, Shropshire and Telford & Wrekin.

Sign up via: www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk/marches-energy-grant for a free energy efficiency audit to assess your equipment, premises, processes and performance to find opportunities for improvements in energy usage.

You can then apply for a grant for projects worth up to £20,000 (some match funding required)

4. Install roof top solar panels on your business premises (Big Solar Coop) (see below)

Big Solar Co-op installs solar panels on rooftops which are the size of a tennis court or bigger, and where the building has high electricity usage (prior to 2022 prices, at least £20k in electricity bills). See their website to find out more or submit information about your site via https://bigsolar.coop/submit-a-site/ for an assessment and response from the local coordinator.