Businesses in the Highlands and Islands operating in tourism, creative industries and food and drink processing can now apply for grants of up to £150,000 to help them reduce the environmental impacts of their operations.
The £2m Green Grants Fund, launched by Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE), is also available to social enterprises in any sector.
The fund aims to address both the cost of doing business and the climate crisis, through measures such as energy efficiency, use of renewables, promotion of active business travel and better waste management.
A series of rural business panel surveys shows the prolonged impacts of Brexit and the pandemic, and the added pressures of increasing costs, are having a disproportionate impact on tourism, creative industries and food and drink businesses.
This is disrupting plans by companies to invest in green technology and in reducing energy costs, which in turn could impact their long-term viability.
The new fund, which closes for applications on 14 July, offers grants of £25,000 to £150,000, covering up to 50% of total project costs.
The fund is aimed at small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) or social enterprises that have been trading for at least six months and are commercial ratepayers. Applicants are also required to be following Fair Work Principals, including paying their employees at least the Real Living Wage.
Projects should include eligible activity that helps businesses reduce or green their energy usage and make progress towards achieving net zero carbon emissions.
Successful applicants will undertake a carbon footprint assessment at the start of their project and provide a projection of the potential carbon savings they’re likely to make.
Rachel Hunter, HIE’s director of enterprise support, said: “We always examine the feedback we get from the rural business surveys and use this to help steer our investment policies and priorities.
“Over the past year or two, the feedback has shown consistently that tourism, creative industries and food and drink businesses have been disproportionately affected by factors such as Brexit, the pandemic and the rising costs of doing business.
“We’ve developed the Green Grant Fund as a means of addressing this imbalance and help strengthen these sectors and at the same time, progress the drive to net zero.”
Small Business Minister Richard Lochhead added: “The Scottish Government is fully aware of the economic pressures that small and medium sized businesses are currently facing and we are committed to providing as much support as possible within our powers.
“This is a valuable fund for businesses and will help them with challenges such as soaring energy costs.”
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