Help your sales with Energy-Efficiency Loans from the Carbon Trust!

An interest- free Energy-Efficiency loan from the Carbon Trust of between £5,000 and £100,000 can be used to fund energy saving projects that upgrade or replace existing equipment such as lighting, boilers or insulation; each application assessed is based on the specific energy usage and processes involved. By offering an Energy-Efficiency loan from the Carbon Trust to your customers you can help them fund their purchases and increase your sales. Energy-Efficiency loans from the Carbon Trust may make projects which were previously too expensive viable to the customer.

The loan scheme is a Government-backed initiative that aims to reduce energy use across UK businesses. It is run by the Carbon Trust, which has a £10 million fund to loan to eligible companies.

Which companies are eligible

Private sector small and medium sized enterprises (SME's with accounts showing a trading history of at least 12 months and an acceptable credit rating.

A company is a SME if it has:

• Fewer than 250 employees,
• less than 40 million euro turnover (approx £25M), or
• less than 27 million euro assets (approx £17M).

But it is not a SME if:

• The company is either owned or controlled by a larger organization (i.e. more than 25% of the capital or voting rights are owned by an enterprise which is not itself a SME).
• Companies operating in agriculture, fisheries (including some parts of the food and drink industry), transport, or export-related activities are not eligible.

Which projects are eligible

• Projects qualify if estimated energy savings cover the loan within five years.
• Supplier installation costs can be included.
• If payback >5 years the loan is capped at five times the annual saving.
• If the carbon threshold of two tonnes of carbon per £1,000 loan is met.

The benefits to you

• Makes it easier for your customers to invest in energy efficiency projects.
• Overcomes capital cost barrier.
• May accelerate your customer’s decision.
• Minimal disruption to your sales activity.
• Adds value to your sales proposition.
• Creates an environmental benefit.
• Energy savings equals lower carbon emissions.
  

If there's anything you need to know please call our helpline on 0800 58 57 94, you'll receive expert advice and can arrange for a free telephone consultation. Or alternatively download or order an information pack at http://www.thecarbontrust.co.uk/loans.

The Carbon Trust explains how an interest-free loan taken out by pharmaceutical group, Surepharm, helped to cut thousands off its energy bills by investing in new heating equipment.

Surepharm, a specialist in tablet production in the UK, has been in operation since 1990 and currently employs just over 90 people. Its typical annual energy bill incurred through site running costs is £72,000.

Surepharm’s operations are concentrated on a single site at the Bretby Business Park, just outside Burton upon Trent. Its 2,000 square metre premises comprises of a production facility with offices, warehouse and laboratories. The factory site is used for the production and packaging of pharmaceutical products, pills and tablets – principally for the health food market.

Heavily reliant on boilers for the manufacturing of the pharmaceuticals, Surepharm was forced to install its own boiler when Bretby Business Park decided to decentralise its services by switching off the central steam boiler and install separate gas fired boiler plants around the business park.

Being an opportune time to invest in more energy efficient equipment, Surepharm applied for an Energy-Efficiency loan from the Carbon Trust at the end of May 2003 and within two months the company was awarded the maximum loan amount at that time of £50,000.

Through the replacement boilers Surepharm expects annual savings of just over £37,000 with an estimated loan payback period of approximately 1.4 years. Surepharm will also be making an annual saving of 480 tonnes of carbon dioxide, a gas which has been identified as the main contributor to climate change.

Surepharm has used the Energy-Efficiency loan from the Carbon Trust to help with:

• The purchase of a self-contained plant room including a steam boiler, which supplies steam for the production process.
• The installation of gas fired LPHW boilers in the existing steam calorifier plant room to feed existing radiator heating.
• Converting the heating system in the production area from electricity to gas.

Ian Gardner, Managing Director of Surepharm said: “It was important for us that we were able to run our manufacturing processes independently so we could have more control over our energy use – and ultimately reduce our energy bills.

The Energy-Efficiency loan from the Carbon Trust gave us the power to immediately change to more energy efficient boiler systems across all areas of production and packaging which really delivers cost saving benefits.”

Peter Stones, Financial Programmes Manager at the Carbon Trust urges other SME's to take advantage of the great opportunities offered by Energy-Efficiency loans from the Carbon Trust. “Becoming energy efficient brings both short-term and long-term benefits to SME's with proven impact on the bottom-line. It’s also good for the environment as energy efficiency is the most effective way that businesses can help cut carbon dioxide emissions.”

Upgrading to energy efficient equipment, even with a modest investment, can save a company over 20% on energy bills. In many cases, the amount of money saved each month on energy bills will exceed the loan repayments thereby increasing company profits by hundreds, or thousands, of pounds each year throughout the payback period. Thereafter, the full value of the saving contributes to the bottom line.

Click http://www.thecarbontrust.co.uk/loans here for more information on how Energy-Efficiency Loans from the Carbon Trust could benefit you!

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