IMPACT

IMPACT to focus on business efficiency benefits of carbon reduction to:

• Raise awareness of environmental issues amongst 3000 SE
• Provide in-depth business efficiency assessment info & support to 1000/3000 SE
• Work with 30 start-up SE and 300 SE (total 330SE) to create an environmental & business efficiency action plan to stimulate, guide and monitor their shift to a more sustainable future
• Work with a further 150 SE to develop their ability/readiness to enter and sustain new supply chain positions
• Support 70 SE with a cash grant (up to £1k) to co-finance implementation of agreed efficiency improvement actions
• Each of the above with drive beneficiaries incrementally towards taking actions to improve their business & resource efficiency => improved business performance => jobs created/safeguarded.

The secondary objectives of the project were to:

• Deliver 50 workshops to 330 SE, (broken down into easy to access 2 hour bite size modules within a business and environmental efficiency support programme - forming part of the action plan)
• Recruit 10 Ambassadors as part of a Carbon Cutting network to champion best practice (who will participate in a programme to develop their practical energy efficiency auditing skills and then be deployed to SE in & around their area of operation to help reduce community carbon)
• Facilitate 100 academically supervised undergraduate assignments in SE, (providing opportunity for effective knowledge transfer, whilst exposing students to real workplace environments & improving their potential employability)
• Provide a support mechanism for eligible SE to achieve greater exposure to and compliance with Public Sector procurement opportunities, (thereby enhancing sustainable job growth potential)
• Build and maintain a dynamic knowledge base to empower the advice service and provide accurate and current information and intelligence to clients
• Organise and host 4 peer group networking events each year (12 in total), (that include opportunities for SE operating in the low carbon/green sector to make linkages to general SE and academia to support them in adopting good environmental practice and behaviours)
• Organise and host 1 Business Efficiency conference for SE in the East of England

This project sought to support local SMEs in the SEMLEP region to improve their environmental efficiency, both through the adoption of net zero/low carbon technologies, and changes to business practices and operations. This was through both practical support and consultations, as well as training and education workshops, with research conducted to understand the impact of this work.