Accelerator programme to provide free ‘green’ support in race to net zero

Businesses are set to get free help to go green after Government funding worth £1million was awarded to support companies in Leicester in the race to net zero.

The East Midlands Accelerator programme, led by East Midlands Chamber, will be delivered by De Montfort University Leicester (DMU), Loughborough University and the University of Leicester, alongside local authorities and business support organisations in the city.

It will mean companies who have between 10 and 250 employees based in Leicester can get free help to discover their carbon footprint and put together practical steps to reduce emissions. Interested companies have until the end of January to sign up.

The free support package on offer includes:

• Carbon Literacy Training – free one-day training to learn the basics of calculating your company’s carbon footprint and actions you can take
• Audits – Trained teams of students will visit you to complete a sustainability audit for your organisation
• Planning – helping you draw up a step-by-step plan to set and achieve your company’s decarbonisation plans
• Placements – Get a student or recent graduate to work within your company for free, focusing on a sustainability project
• Grants – Get support towards equipment or feasibility studies for larger-scale programmes.

The zero-carbon project is just one of five programmes that will be funded through the £1million pot, which comes from the Government’s UK Community Renewal Fund (CRF). Others focus on start-ups, mentoring, finance and digital transformation.

If you are an SME and would like to take part, please get in touch with Leicester Innovation Hub which is co-ordinating all the expressions of interest. Email leicinnovation@le.ac.uk