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Opportunity for 300 SMEs in North Kesteven to join the Get Zero Get Zellar project and discover how going green could benefit your business, whilst also saving you money.
North Kesteven District Council is the latest to join the project to boost local net zero progress, and is offering free access to Zellar, an online sustainability tool that helps you cut your carbon footprint and energy bills.
Zellar guides you through the process of calculating and understanding your carbon emissions and then building an achievable plan to reduce them, based on the size and sector of your company. Businesses using the Zellar app and website can cut energy costs by 5-10% and save an average of £4,100 in energy bills.
To qualify for a free one-year Zellar license a business must be a micro-SME (up to 10 employees) or SME (under 250 employees) with a base in North Kesteven. The offer is available to the first 300 qualifying enterprises that apply before 31 March 2024.
You can claim your free access to Zellar HERE.
Find out more information and see how much your business could save using Zellar's energy saving calculator here.
This Council-led programme is part-funded by SSE's Sustainable Business Communities project with Zellar.
Expressions of interest can now be made for a capital grant scheme aimed at supporting rural businesses in North Kesteven.
The Rural Business Grant (RBG) will support rural businesses to invest in sustainable growth across the District.
The first window for Expressions of Interest is open until Thursday 1 June. The first call for full applications will take place when the EOI window has closed. The digital Expression of Interest form is available on the Council’s website HERE.
It will specifically be aimed at supporting new and existing rural businesses to develop products, services and facilities of wider benefit to the local economy, such as farm businesses looking to diversify income streams, growth in the visitor economy including visitor accommodation and investments in power and energy efficiency which will make a positive contribution to the District reaching net zero.
The grant is being delivered by North Kesteven District Council for DEFRA under the Rural England Prosperity Fund.
The minimum grant available through the RBG is £5,000, and depending on the project and investment needed applicants may be required to provide match funding. All projects must be deliverable before 31 March 2025.
Expressions of Interest will allow the Council’s Grants Team to make early assessments of project eligibility, and ensure applicants are given the time and support where necessary to refine and develop investments in line with the objectives of the Rural England Prosperity Fund and meet the various requirements for evidence.
It will also help ensure that proper consideration is given to projects that may require planning permission, or any additional funding or legal matters which need to be concluded within the time frame set out for the delivery of projects. The RBG will run until March 2025 and has £450,000 allocated in total.
North Kesteven’s Rural England Prosperity Fund allocation is an addendum to the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, in order to support rural areas in England and the two Levelling Up Fund missions of improving living standards and growing pride of place.
Businesses in North Kesteven can get funded access to the Maybe* platform, equipped with free digital skills training and social media tools.
You can access it now, by signing up HERE.
It's aimed at improving use of social media, and in turn driving increased sales, and is delivered by the team of experts at Maybe*. You can find out more information about Maybe* here.
The training and tools include everything from where to get started with social media to advanced strategies about how to use Facebook ads to deliver winning sales tactics. It's been funded through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.
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