Tuesday 20 October: Theo Paphitis is today calling on businesses to scrap outdated equipment and save millions on their energy bill. In a bid to reduce the C02 emissions produced by businesses every year, Joan Ruddock MP is launching the Carbon TrustâÂÂs Big Business Refit â to coincide with Energy Saving Week - which is giving out ã100m interest-free to help small and medium companies modernise their businesses. According to new research released by the Carbon TrustâÂÂs, British businesses are being forced to âÂÂmake do and mendâ with old, inefficient equipment, costing businesses ã3.3bn a year in wasted energy. Hever Castle near Edenbridge in Kent, the childhood home of Anne Boleyn, took out a ã100,000 Carbon Trust loan in 2007 to replace their motley collection of oil-fired boilers (that dated back to the early nineteen hundreds) and liquid petroleum gas-fuelled heating systems, replacing them with an 800-kilowatt biomass boiler. As a result, the company is now saving ã50,000 on their energy bills annually. The government endorsed initiative provides businesses with expert guidance, plus financial support in the form of ã100m in interest free funding, which can be paid back through the energy savings the new equipment delivers. On average, businesses individually can save ã14,000 a year off their energy bills with a refit â but this could rise to ã120,000 a year depending on the machinery replaced.
