These support schemes and networks are available anywhere in the UK:

• BEIS Industrial Energy Efficiency Accelerator provides funds for companies willing to implement low carbon technology
• Business rates relief – some businesses in England are eligible for a reduction in their business rates bill. This is called ‘business rates relief’. The rules for business rates relief are different if your property is in Scotland, your property is in Wales or your property is in Northern Ireland.
• Capital allowances – businesses who are eligible can fully expense their plant and machinery costs and access 50% first-year allowances for special rate expenditure from April 2023 until 31 March 2026
• Clean Growth Fund invests in early stage UK companies seeking investment capital for low carbon activities
• Energy Bills Discount Scheme runs for 12 months from 1 April 2023 to 31 March 2024. The baseline discount provides some support with energy bills for eligible non-domestic customers and is applied automatically. The Energy and Trade Intensive Industries (ETII) discount provides a higher level of support to businesses and organisations in eligible sectors – you need to apply for this support. Eligible organisations will have 90 days from 26 April 2023 to apply for the higher support. New organisations or newly eligible organisations will have 90 days to apply from the date at which they become eligible.
• Energy Saving Trust’s ‘Transport for funding for businesses and local authorities’ for information on low carbon transport grants and loans available in the UK and Scotland
• Gigabit vouchers give up to £1,500 for homes and £3,500 for businesses to install high speed internet in rural areas
• Green Economy allows SMEs to buy and sell low carbon products and services to other businesses
• Industrial Energy Transformation Fund gives matching funds to businesses with high energy use from industrial processes matching funds – up to £30M for feasibility studies, efficiency measures and decarbonisation deployment. Phase 1 and 2 are completed, and IETF Phase 3 is planned for launch in early 2024. For queries about the IETF for England, Wales and Northern Ireland, contact IETF@beis.gov.uk. For queries about the Scottish Industrial Energy Transformation Fund (SIETF), contact IETF@gov.scot
• VAT will no longer be charged from 2022 to 2027 on some domestic energy saving measures in England, Scotland and Wales. Eligible measures include insulation, heat pumps, solar panels, wind turbines and more. In Northern Ireland, the list of qualifying goods and rate of VAT due on installations will remain unchanged. The Northern Ireland Executive will receive a Barnett share of the value of the relief until it can be introduced UK-wide.
• Workplace Charging Scheme gives businesses up to £350 per socket (up to a total of 40) to install electric vehicle chargepoints
• Wrap supports a voluntary agreement on food waste – the Courtauld Commitment 2030 – which enables collaborative action across the entire UK food chain to deliver farm-to-fork reductions in food waste, greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and water stress that will help the UK food and drink sector achieve global environmental goals

You can also search GOV.UK’s list of active funds that help businesses become greener, or the UK Research and Innovation’s list of business competitions that award grants for green projects.

You can go to the Federation of Small Businesses or your local chamber for advice.

These support schemes and networks are available in England:

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme gives up to £6,000 for small businesses to install a heat pump or biomass boiler
• Environmental Land Management GOV.UK schemes provide funds for sustainable farming practices and land recovery
• Local Enterprise Partnership (LEP) growth hubs provide advice on funding, growth and sustainability in 38 regions across England

These support schemes and networks are available in the East of England:

• Business Energy Efficiency gives enterprise SMEs up to £10,000 in matching funds for energy efficiency improvements, electric vehicles and new machinery – must be located in Suffolk or Norfolk counties

These support schemes and networks are available in East Midlands:

• Green Entrepreneurs Programme has a small grants from £10,000 to £20,000 and a large grant that starts at £100,000 – must be located in Derbyshire County
• University of Derby’s Invest to Grow programme gives grants and loans from £15,000 to £250,000 to B2B companies in the East Midlands that create jobs in different sectors, including low carbon
• Workplace Travel Service Grants give SMEs up to £25,000 for travel improvements such as electric vehicle chargers, showers and bicycle parking – must be located in Nottingham city
• UKSPF Business Sustainability Grant supports businesses in reducing their energy related overheads whilst also seeking to reduce the regions CO2 emissions as a direct result. Businesses must be based within North Lincolnshire. The maximum grant per business will be £5,000 and the minimum grant per business will be £500.

These support schemes and networks are available in Greater London:

• Better Futures+ provides up to £1,000 in free business support for London-based businesses with at least two full-time employees and turnover between £100,000 and £43M
• Greater London Fund invests in early stage companies with an average investment of £400,000 to £1M – part of the fund is set aside for companies that reduce waste
• Greater London Investment Fund offers loans from £100,000 to £1M to limited company SMEs – repayment term is 3 to 5 years and interest rates vary
• Heart of the City helps SMEs with the fundamentals of net zero, measuring carbon footprints, setting targets and disclosing progress. They have a free climate action toolkit, and in-depth course that’s free if you have less than 250 based in, or with more than 50% of your operations in the Square Mile, or you’re an SME supplier or tenant of the City of London Corporation

These support schemes and networks are available in North East England:

• Durham’s North East Business Support Fund gives SMEs up to £3,200 in matching funds for business improvements
• Northumberland’s North East Business Support Fund gives SMEs up to £2,800 in matching funds for business improvements
• North of Tyne Growth Fund gives SMEs up to 30% in matching funds when they plan to invest at least £67,000 in premises improvements and other capital costs. Must be located in Newcastle, North Tyneside or Northumberland.
• Tyne and Wear’s North East Business Support Fund gives SMEs up to £2,800 in matching funds for business improvements
• Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland’s Business Energy Saving Team (BEST) offers free advice, energy efficiency audits and grant support to help SMEs to reduce energy use and costs

These support schemes and networks are available in North West England:

• Chamber Low Carbon gives SMEs free ‘1-2-1’ consulting to improve energy efficiency and develop low carbon products. Must be based in Lancashire.
• Eco-I North West offers SMEs R&D funding, capital grants and collaboration with universities to help transition to a low carbon economy – must be located in Cumbria, Lancashire, Liverpool City Region, Cheshire & Warrington or Greater Manchester
• GC Business Growth Hub provides fully funded resource efficiency support to SMEs located in Greater Manchester – includes a virtual Journey to Net Zero programme for SMEs that are at an early stage on their path to net zero emissions

These support schemes and networks are available in South East England:

• East Sussex Council free energy audits and grants gives SMEs up to £10,000 to invest in carbon reduction – must be located in East Sussex
• Energy Efficiency Grants for East Sussex gives SMEs £200 to £1,000 in matching funds to improve energy efficiency – must be located in East Sussex, excluding Brighton and Hove
• EMphasis3 CO2 Reductions Project gives SMEs up to 36% in matching funds to improve energy efficiency and commercialize green products
• Greentech South’s Low Carbon Solent gives free business support from postgraduate students at the universities of Portsmouth and Winchester

These support schemes and networks are available in South West England:

• Clean Growth UK (South West Hub) offers SMEs funding, coaching and grant application support
• Low Carbon Dorset gives SMEs with free technical advice for energy efficiency and renewable energy project ideas – must be located in the Dorset and BCP Council areas
• Low Carbon Devon gives SMEs access to research, business support, free events and fully funded internships – must be located in the Devon area
• Low Carbon Business Support (West of England Combined Authority) provide SMEs and SME charities with free expert advice and guidance as well as capital grants to take action to reduce carbon emissions and energy bills. Sign up for a free Carbon Survey and apply for a Green Business Grant of up to £15,000. Must be located in Bath & North-East Somerset, Bristol and South Gloucestershire
• West of England Green Business Grant gives SMEs up to £15,000 to improve energy efficiency and install solar panels – must be located in Bath and North East Somerset, Bristol, North Somerset or South Gloucestershire

These support schemes and networks are available in West Midlands:

• Agri-tech Growth and Resources for Innovation (AGRI) gives SMEs free innovation support from experts at local universities – must be located in the Marches region
• Alternative Raw Materials with Low Impact (ARLI) gives free energy efficiency advice and technical support to SMEs in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull areas
• Birmingham & Solihull Industrial Symbiosis Project (BASIS) gives SMEs 12 hours of free consulting to transition waste products into useful resources for other businesses – must be located in the Greater Birmingham and Solihull areas
• Energy & Bioproducts Research Institute (EBRI) gives SMEs expert advice and research support to develop low carbon products and services
• GrowAgri gives SMEs 12 hours of expert support to adapt products for the horticulture and agriculture sectors – must be located in Worcestershire
• Low Carbon Opportunities Programme (LoCOP) – gives SMEs free energy assessments and matching grants up to £100,000 to install renewable energy systems – must be located in Worcestershire
• Low Carbon SMEs gives free energy audits and matching funds up to £12,250 for energy saving equipment or new business processes – must be located in Black Country, Greater Birmingham and Solihull
• Smarterials provides free expertise from Aston University for research and testing in material science
• Sustainability West Midlands in the regional hub for support and funding sustainable business
• West Midlands Innovation Programme provides targeted support to SMEs to access more national innovation funding

These support schemes and networks are available in Yorkshire and the Humber:

• Green Port Hull gives SMEs a minimum of £10,000 to businesses in the low carbon and renewable sectors – must be located in Hull or the East Riding of Yorkshire
• Business support sustainability Free advice, consultancy and grant funding to help SMEs achieve net zero and prepare for the impacts of climate change. SMEs of up to 100 employees in West Yorkshire (Bradford, Calderdale, Kirklees, Leeds, Wakefield) are eligible for this support.