More than 600 small and medium sized hospitality businesses will benefit from the initiative, which will provide free energy and carbon reduction assessments to cut energy costs, support productivity and boost growth.
Funded by the Government and delivered by hospitality net-zero advisers Zero Carbon Services, the trial could save the hospitality sector £3m on bills and reduce 2,700 tonnes of carbon emissions, the Government estimated.
The scheme was announced on Tuesday 3 June by the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero and MP Sarah Jones, who said it would “help businesses keep more money in their pockets to grow and employ local people”.
Becoming more sustainable
UKHospitality (UKH) chief executive Kate Nicholls added: “Hospitality businesses have already made great strides to reduce their emissions but are keen to go further and faster in order to save costs and become more sustainable.
“We’re pleased to support this new trial that can help businesses further cut their emissions, and we’re looking forward to working with the Government and Zero Carbon Services on its rollout.”
A recent report from the Federation of Small Businesses found that 64% of SMEs felt sustainability should be a high priority for the Government.
However, just 26% believed they had the appropriate knowledge to transition their business to net zero.
Under the initiative, Zero Carbon Services will support businesses to fix insulation gaps, upgrade to low energy lighting or tweaking heating settings and other cost effective changes.
Valuable insights
British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA) CEO Emma McClarkin said: “This initiative is welcome and will give valuable insights into the ways the sector can become more energy efficient which could help to cut down on energy bills.
“This is no small sum and we’re pleased that the Government has acted on our calls to support the sector through boosting funding to undertake this kind of work.”
The launch of the trial comes ahead of the Government’s modern Industrial Strategy, which it said would “turbocharge growth” in the UK’s key sectors including clean energy.
British Institute of Innkeeping (BII) CEO Steve Alton added: “Running a lean, sustainable pub business is vital for operators across the UK.
“We have supported our members with their carbon measurement and reduction over the past 2 years as part of our Sustainability Champions programme, so we are delighted that Zero Carbon Services can now offer more support via free assessments and coaching to over 600 operators.”
