Businesses across Shropshire were today urged to take advantage of a special fund which offers grants of up to £50,000 to help them go green.

The Low Carbon Opportunities Programme (LOCOP) can help businesses meet up to 40 per cent of the cost of revenue or capital projects to boost the use of environmentally-friendly  technology.

It is open to the vast majority of SMEs in Shropshire and can be used to cover a wide range of projects or specific services including developing and implementing low carbon ideas and bringing new products, processes or services to market.

Tim Yair, regional senior energy projects officer for the Marches Local Enterprise Partnership, said the programme offered a huge opportunity for businesses within the Shropshire local authority area. 

“This is a fantastic chance to get grant funding for up to 40 per cent of the cost of a low carbon project.

“The funding aims to support innovation towards low carbon projects and can be used to cover a considerable range of projects or specific services, so there’s a good chance that many companies across the county can benefit.” 

Types of projects which could be funded include:

• Low carbon product, process or service development

• Commercialisation or implementation costs

• Market research and assessment

• IPR protection and accreditation

• Prototyping, demonstration or testing of new products

• Manufacturing scale up or market rollout

• Plant, equipment and machinery

The programme is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is being delivered by Clean Growth Worcestershire with the support of the Marches LEP and its business support service, the Marches Growth Hub.

Marches LEP small business champion Dave Courteen added: “The Marches Growth Hub is here to help all businesses access funding and finance and play their part in helping us meet the net zero targets which will help fight climate change.

“I would strongly recommend any business in Shropshire to investigate how this programme can help them.” 

To qualify, business must be situated in and trading from Shropshire, employ fewer than 250 employees and have a turnover of less than 50 million Euros per annum or a balance sheet of less than 43 million Euros.

Some industries, such as primary agriculture and retail, are not eligible along with social welfare and education facilities, banking and insurance.

For more information about the programme and details of the application process visit https://www.marchesgrowthhub.co.uk/support/low-carbon-opportunities-programme-locop/