The Carbon Trust is to help thousands of small and medium-sized retailers to drive down their costs by as much as £41m through a new programme – The Big Business Refit – set to launch in September this year, it was announced today.
The Big Business Refit will offer retail SMEs expert advice and financial support to slash their energy costs by scrapping old inefficient equipment and replacing it with new energy efficient models.
It follows a recession-driven surge in demand for the Carbon Trust’s interest-free business loans.
In the first six months of 2009, hundreds of retailers from the corner fish and chip shop to supermarkets have been given loans at zero-interest to equip their businesses with the latest energy-saving technology.
As a result, they are saving an average of over £8,000 each on their annual energy bills – a collective total of over £140,000 a year.
Tom Delay, chief executive at the Carbon Trust, said: “Retail business owners are realising that for every month they ‘make do and mend’ with old inefficient equipment, they are wasting more cash on unnecessarily high energy bills.
“With credit all but dried up elsewhere, the Big Business Refit breaks the deadlock by helping SMEs to buy the equipment that will both slash their costs and often transform their businesses.”
Retailers that want to take part in the Big Business Refit can get expert advice from the Carbon Trust by calling 01865 885879.
SME retailers can also benefit from free energy saving assessments from a Carbon Trust expert and a tailored action plan that identifies the savings that could be made by replacing energy-guzzling equipment.
The Carbon Trust’s unsecured, interest-free loans can be used for equipment replacements costing between £3,000 and £400,000.
The loans are designed to pay for themselves through direct energy savings, so that once the loan is repaid, savings go straight to bottom line.
With a total of £100m in loans available, the Big Business Refit is expected to help up to 5000 UK retail SMEs save a total of £41m off their annual energy costs.
Refrigeration, lighting and heating are essential equipment for retail businesses.
Source: Carbon Trust
