A green grants scheme for business which has already allocated more than £23,000 across Suffolk and Norfolk has widened its scope to enable any energy cutting measure to be considered.

The BEE Anglia project was launched earlier this year after European Union funding was approved just in the nick of time. Its aim is to enable Norfolk and Suffolk firms grow sustainably while cutting their energy costs.

So far the project has awarded £23,130 in grant funding for various energy efficiency projects including radiant heating, vehicle tracking, wood burner and lighting.

The scope for grant funding has been widened to enable any energy efficiency measure to be considered. Approval will be based on being able to demonstrate sufficient associated energy savings.

Bespoke furniture firm Debenvale Ltd, of Rendlesham, near Woodbridge, is one of the successful applicants. It is due to have a new wood burner installed in January, part funded by BEE Anglia.

The firm’s Gemma Southgate said any savings made would enable it to invest back into other areas of the business and help it to continue to grow

“Our workshop has lots of wood offcuts and it makes sense for us to use the timber as a heat source, it will reduce our waste and make us more energy efficient,” she said.

“The wood burner is a large initial outlay but knowing that we will receive a proportion of this cost back from BEE Anglia helped us make the decision to go ahead with the purchase and in the long run we will save on our waste and heating costs.”

The BEE Anglia project is funded by the European Regional Development Fund and is being delivered across the region through a partnership of Groundwork, Norfolk County Council, NWES and Suffolk County Council.

To date, it has reviewed 142 organisations and identified cost savings of £1,334,026, or £9,395 per business, and carbon savings of 17,445t, which amounts to 123t per business. The savings identified are the equivalent of 5185 flights from London to Sydney.

The project has three core offers that have been designed to help businesses reduce carbon and save money using independent advice, funding and recognition for their efforts.

The first is its free energy reviews, where its energy experts visit the business’s premises to conduct a free, impartial and independent review that identifies the best cost and carbon saving opportunities.

The second is grant funding, usings its limited pot of European funding to support participating businesses to implement energy efficiency measures.

The third is Carbon Charter accreditation fully funded by the BEE project.

If your organisation is interested in the service, register your interest online at www.beeanglia.org or call Groundwork on 01473 350370, where BEE advisers will be able to answer any queries about eligibility for the programme or potential grant projects.