The Carbon Trust has announced that it is to provide small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the UK with improved access to £100 million in interest-free green loans .
In order to make funding available to more SMBs, including very small micro-businesses, and encourage more applications, the Carbon Trust has relaxed its eligibility criteria with the minimum loan amount being cut from £5,000 to £2,000 and the upper limit doubled to £400,000.
According to the organisation, the government-backed loan scheme has already helped thousands of small businesses across the country reduce their energy consumption and carbon footprints by installing energy-efficient equipment.
It said that it remains on track to deliver more than £100 million to companies in the UK over the next two years, with most of the money likely to be spent on reducing firms' electricity bills through energy efficiency schemes.
Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, said: "SMBs are the backbone of the UK economy and key to the move to the low-carbon world."
"We are extending a helping hand to them by offering more than £100 million in interest-free, unsecured loans at a time when bank funding is hard to come by."
The Trust estimates that £3,000 would allow a small company could to upgrade to a new energy-efficient boiler, lighting system or refrigeration equipment, while a loan of £400,000 would be sufficient for a medium-sized manufacturing firm to improve the resource efficiency of its production equipment.




