‘Green’ fund targets food and drink sector
MORE than £700,000 is being made available to SMEs wanting to cut their greenhouse gas emissions by reducing waste, saving water or energy.
CO2Sense Yorkshire is offering firms the opportunity to bid for money to help them reduce their carbon footprint through the Greenhouse Gas Savings Capital Investment Fund.
The £750,000 fund is designed to increase the capacity of the resource efficiency sector in Yorkshire.
Funded projects are expected to hit targets for CO2 emissions reductions, tonnage of waste diverted from landfill, business growth and cost saving.
The food and drink sector is one of the priority sectors and CO2Sense Yorkshire is encouraging waste producers, collectors and processors to bid for funds.
Commenting on the funding announcement, Andy Lowe, food and drink project manager for CO2Sense Yorkshire said: “Our key aim is to help businesses to realise the benefits of resource efficiency and to increase the competitiveness, capacity, quality and scale of companies in Yorkshire’s food waste sector.
“These funding packages will help businesses to grow and prosper, increasing regional competitiveness, and generating the expertise to transform Yorkshire and Humber into a low carbon economy.”
Businesses and projects that were successful in the last round of Greenhouse Gas Savings Capital Investment funding received between £8,000 and £75,000 of support.
Successful applicants included Bradford Environmental Action Trust, which set up a new segregated food waste collection for businesses in Bradford and Halifax and Allensway Recycling, which received capital funding for a new depackaging and wash plant to divert an extra 10,000 tonnes of food waste from landfill per year.
For more information about the fund including submission deadline visit www.CO2Sense.org.co.uk
Companies interested in renewable energy in the sector can also approach the CO2Sense Renewable Energy Fund.
Funding is available on commercial terms and grant basis, depending on circumstances. Bids can be made for amounts between £20,000 and up to £750,000.
