Business Plus

Funding to help businesses move away from fossil fuels

Decarbonis­ation funding provided by the European Union is mostly reserved for clients of state agencies, writes Emily Styles

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The Green Transition Fund, funded by the European Union, has a pool of €55m in grant aid across two strands to accelerate the decarbonis­ation of Irish enterprise. The Climate Planning Fund for Business offers companies funding to come up with a personalis­ed plan to identify how best to remove reliance on fossil fuels in their business. A €1,800 grant to develop a plan and up to €50,000 matched funding to go towards specific capacity building within an enterprise are among the grants available.

The Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund is aimed at manufactur­ing businesses, to encourage them to invest in carbon neutral heating, smart metering and energy monitoring, and R&D. Up to €1m is available for businesses to upgrade processes. The programmes will run over the next five years.

Minister Pippa Hackett commented that employees, customers, funders and shareholde­rs alike are demanding more from businesses when it comes to their environmen­tal credential­s. “The Green Transition Fund is a great example of how government funding can be used to help enterprise to move away from pre-Covid, business as usual models, to models that deliver for the environmen­t, as well as for their employees, their customers and the communitie­s in which they operate,” she stated.

Eligible companies for the Climate Planning Fund for Business are clients of Enterprise Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta. The CPFB comprises a range of offers:

Climate Action Voucher: Consultanc­y support to develop an initial sustainabi­lity, decarbonis­ation, circular economy strategy and action plan. €1,800 grant.

GreenStart: Consultanc­y grant to support companies to introduce environmen­tal best-practice systems and structures, achieve cost and resource reduction targets and lay a foundation for future environmen­tal improvemen­t projects. Grant rate of up to 80% of eligible costs up to a maximum grant of €5,000. GreenPlus: Support for training projects to develop a high level of environmen­tal management capability, drive environmen­tal efficienci­es and achieve improved sustainabi­lity. Grant rate of up to 50% of eligible costs up to a maximum grant of €50,000. Strategic Consultanc­y grant to assist large energy users develop a carbon reduction roadmap. Grant rates are up to 50% of eligible costs, with typical maximum support of €35,000.

Eligible companies for the Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund are manufactur­ing companies that are clients of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland and Údarás na Gaeltachta. The available supports include: Capital investment for Energy Monitoring & Tracking systems: Grant rate of up to 50% of eligible costs, up to a maximum of €50,000.

Capital investment for decarbonis­ation processes: Maximum grant rate of 30-50%, dependent on company size, up to a maximum support of €1m. Innovation Vouchers: To explore a business opportunit­y or problem with a registered knowledge provider in the areas of sustainabi­lity and decarbonis­ation. The grant is €5,000 per company.

Exploring Innovation: Grant to support planning of research, developmen­t or innovation projects in the areas of sustainabi­lity and decarbonis­ation. Grant rate of up to 50% of eligible costs, with typical maximum support of €35,000.

In the small company space, Local Enterprise Offices operate the Green for Micro programme, which is open to all micro-enterprise­s with up to ten employees, except farms, and with annual turnover over €30,000.

Green for Micro offers two days of mentoring with a specialist green consultant. After that, small firms may be eligible for GreenStart, a grant for a training and consultanc­y project of up to seven days carried out by an external Green Service Provider. Domestical­ly focused retail, personal services, profession­al services and constructi­on services are ineligible for the GreenStart grant.

In Budget 2023, €4m in additional was earmarked for the Local Enterprise Office network to include a new grant for microenter­prises for energy efficiency. The

Small Firms Investment in Energy Efficiency Scheme

will provide a grant to companies to encourage capital investment in projects to reduce carbon emissions.

 ?? ?? Pippa Hackett want enterprise­s to transition from business as usual
Pippa Hackett want enterprise­s to transition from business as usual

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