Free support for businesses in the Winchester district.
Winchester City Council has asked us to help businesses in the Winchester district take a fresh look at reducing monthly costs and carbon.
This is often difficult to achieve internally, so while you’re dealing with the cost of living crisis and generating sales, we’ll check you’re not paying too much on regular business expenses such as energy, merchant services, water, etc.
This support is free of charge and includes 1 to 1 consultations, online webinars and events.
We have over fifteen years experience, working with over ten thousand businesses and have saved thousands of pounds off their bottom line.
Our work often leads to carbon reduction for the business which we can also measure, again for free.
For those that want explore further, our work can also include Zero, a certified support programme with personal Carbon Coach, a Carbon Reduction Strategy and marketing support.
Grants can cover 40% of expenditure towards your business growth, up to a maximum of £10k and this is administered within the Clean Growth Programme by Low Carbon Across the South and East (LoCASE).
Grants
The grant can support:
- Energy efficiency measures: including energy efficient heating, lighting, insulation, refrigeration, investment in renewables, machinery upgrades.
- Transport efficiency: including second-hand Ultra Low Emission Vehicles (ULEVs), sustainable travel planning and fleet management software.
Grants for energy efficient projects are usually capped at £5k, but can pay up to a maximum of £10k, depending on how much carbon will be reduced. For example, projects that reduce 15 tonnes of CO2e, may be able to obtain a £7.5k grant and a 20 tonne reduction could pay the maximum £10k grant.
In addition, businesses that supply low carbon goods and services and therefore help to remove carbon from other businesses or improve their energy efficiency, the grant can support projects such as:
- Marketing, website development, new IT hardware and systems, materials for R&D, certification and accreditation.
- Plant and Machinery: re-tooling and installation of new or replacement machinery and hardware.
As the grant pays 40% of project costs, a maximum grant of £10k, the project spend needs to be £25k or more. Please note that there is also a minimum grant value of £1k, so the minimum spend for grant support needs to be £2.5k.
Once grant assistance is approved, businesses make the investment as per the grant application, then claim the grant funds after evidencing the spend. Meercat will explain more about the grant application process to guide you, either via the online workshops or via a private consultation booked at your convenience via Calendly.
Who Are We?
Meercat is a procurement consultancy for improving business profits while caring for the planet and addressing the realities of the cost of living crisis.
We have worked with over 100 Business Improvement Districts (BIDs) across the UK and tens of thousands of business owners, providing place management, cost reduction and carbon reduction services. Click for more information about us.