Member Article

Energy management scheme for North East companies

A new £5m scheme to help businesses tackle rising energy costs has secured the regional development agency’s support and investment.

One NorthEast has agreed to invest £4.2m into launching the Energy Management Excellence project which will begin next month and is due to run for two-and-a-half years at selected companies across the North East. The scheme aims to help companies develop new approaches, awareness and skills when it comes to the management and use of energy.

Up to 160 businesses will be targeted in the programme – the first of its type in the country. A team of specialist engineers will be seconded to the project, working closely with firms to develop an energy action plan, analysing current energy usage and highlighting innovative means to cut bills.

Sarah Green, CBI North East Regional Director, supported the scheme stating that: “Over the past two years, energy prices have soared and placed growing pressures on business, moving the issue of energy supply from newspaper science pages to the front page.”

The Energy Management Excellence project also seeks to safeguard jobs. The North East companies involved in the project will contribute a total of £800,000 to fund staff development and implementation of the action plan recommendations.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .