Local organisations have hailed Angus Sustainable Business Week a success after a series of events were held in the region focusing on how to reduce energy, water and waste costs.
Hundreds of businesses were contacted as part of Sustainable Business Week, with many joining workshops, tours and seminars on how to unlock the financial and environmental benefits of reducing resource use.
Now, the organisers of the week, which included a range of local organisations led by the Resource Efficient Scotland programme, is calling on businesses to maintain this momentum and make use of the free support available to help them become more efficient.
Resource Efficient Scotland is a programme from Zero Waste Scotland, funded by the Scottish Government and European Regional Development Fund. Its advisors provide free support to help businesses identify average savings of £10,000 a year through resource efficiency.
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive, Zero Waste Scotland, said:
“The success of the Sustainable Business Week in Angus shows an appetite for small and medium sized businesses to hear about resource efficiency opportunities and explore how their business can benefit.
“Angus is the first area in a programme of regional activity we are delivering, and its success demonstrates that taking the message to businesses in their local area makes the message impactful and provides great networking opportunities with other local businesses.
“I look forward to hearing about Angus businesses who’ve been inspired to become more resource efficient – and to Angus businesses being joined by others across Scotland as we roll out more Sustainable Business Weeks in Fife, the Highlands, and elsewhere.”
Marissa Lippiatt, Head of Zero Waste Scotland’s Resource Efficient Scotland programme, said:
“I’m delighted that the feedback we’ve had from those coming to events has been really positive - comments like ‘fantastic, outstanding, and thought-provoking’. Now we are calling on Angus businesses to take the next steps to reduce their resource use, save money and limit their impact on the environment.”
Events in Angus included a breakfast briefing where local businesses learnt about the financial support available to help them fund resource efficiency projects. The briefing, which was led by Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce and supported by Angus County Council, introduced attendees to the Scottish Government funded small and medium-sized enterprise (SME) loan.
The unsecured interest-free SME loan offers businesses in Scotland up to £100,000 to fund projects that deliver big savings, such as installing low energy lighting or renewable energy technologies.
Prominent Angus-based organisations also opened their doors during the week to showcase their success in championing sustainability. The House of Dun, a National Trust for Scotland property, provided guided tours of its historic building to demonstrate how relatively simple actions, such as installing LED lights, could cut associated energy costs by 90%.
Meanwhile, Kinblethmont Estate held an open day for visitors to see how renewable energy technology could form part of a long-term business plan. The estate’s working farm operates its own wind turbine and biomass boilers, and has over 300,000 solar panels on site.
Councillor Ron Sturrock of Angus Council, said:
“We were pleased to see so many Angus organisations get involved with Sustainable Business Week, whether by attending events and workshops or showcasing and sharing their success with others.
“Angus Council will continue to work towards the reduction of the carbon footprint of Angus, and assist businesses to harness opportunities for saving energy and reducing costs. We will be promoting further events later this year as part of a ‘Green Angus’ month. In the meantime, I would encourage any business interested in saving money to contact the Resource Efficient Scotland programme to find out about the free support on offer.”
To find out how your business can get free support to reduce resource use and unlock profits, contact the Resource Efficient Scotland programme hub team at 0808 808 2268 or email enquiries@resourceefficientscotland.com
Angus Council
Angus Council works to create strong secure communities, an enterprising workforce, and sustainable development over the range of public services for which it has responsibility. We are a customer and citizen focused organisation and work to deliver accessible, effective and efficient services for the county\'s population.
Dundee & Angus Chamber of Commerce
As the leading business membership organisation in Dundee & Angus and part of the worldwide long-established Chamber of Commerce brand, we help local businesses to connect, communicate and develop for business benefit.
