Businesses are already feeling the effects of climate change with adverse weather conditions, flooding and rising pollution levels and even more so lately with new legislation that the government has implemented to try and reduce the levels of waste energy the UK produces. While greatly reducing carbon emissions can be daunting for businesses, there are measures in place to help, including the Low Carbon Workspaces grant scheme which can provide businesses with a grant of up to £5,000 to help them implement energy efficiency measures.

While reducing energy waste should always have been in business’s plans, the need to be more energy efficient is now becoming a pressing concern, as those properties owned by businesses that do not meet certain efficiency standards will likely lose their sales value and incur further restrictions imposed by the government. These new government proposals will ban the letting of commercial and domestic buildings with the lowest standard of Energy Performance Certificates (EPCs) - which assess the energy performance of buildings.

EPCs assess the energy performance of buildings, and also come with energy efficiency recommendations for each property, outlining to owners and tenants what they can do to make the property more energy efficient. Property owners who fail to provide an EPC to potential tenants or buyers could be liable for a fine of between £500 and £5,000, while the sales value of non-compliant buildings or poorly performing buildings may be wiped out by 2018.

Here to support businesses looking to meet these measures is Low Carbon Workspaces. The grant scheme helps businesses identify energy efficiency measures at their workplace, and provides match-funded grants of up to £5,000 to help implement those measures. This can help businesses reduce their energy bills and CO₂ output through measures like solid wall insulation, waste heat recovery, installing efficient boilers, and double glazing.

A recent report by the United Nations (UN) Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has set out a bleak future unless carbon emissions are severely reduced. The negative effects of climate change are of course on a grand scale, but as stated, for businesses concerned with their day-to-day running there are important measures to be taken.

To hear more about getting a Low Carbon Workspaces grant, call the Low Carbon Workspaces team on 01494 569060, email info@lowcarbonworkspaces.co.uk or vist their website here.