£120k cash injection for small businesses announced by Islington Council to aid carbon reduction

New grants have been announced today by Islington Council and their partners, ReLondon, to help small businesses in the borough to scale up circular approaches which reduce their waste and carbon impacts.

The ideology behind the circular economy is that businesses can reduce their carbon footprint substantially by reusing and recycling materials and products in order to make them last longer. This is something that this latest initiative aims to support businesses in doing.

The grants, of £5k or £10k per business, are provided by Islington Council as part of central government support to help the post-pandemic economic recovery.

They will fund up to 20 small businesses to become more circular, increasing their economic resilience, building ‘green’ skill sets amongst Islington businesses and residents and contributing to the borough’s target of becoming a net-zero carbon borough by 2030.

ReLondon, a partnership of the Mayor of London and London’s boroughs, with the mission to accelerate London’s transition to a circular economy, is administering the grants and providing business advisory support to all successful applicants.

They are particularly interested in talking to businesses in Islington’s most deprived wards, as well as those trying out circular business models for the first time. Businesses led by women, or with a disability or from Black, Asian, or other minority ethnic communities are also particularly encouraged to apply.

Cllr Rowena Champion, Islington Council’s executive member for environment and transport, said: “We know that we can only truly tackle the climate emergency together, with local people and businesses working together. The council is taking action but with 92 per cent of Islington’s emissions outside of our control, we must do more.

“We are supporting local businesses with the financial support and expert advice they need to adopt environmentally sustainable practices early on, so they are built into the way they operate as they grow.

“This advice and grants scheme will benefit everyone living, working, shopping and doing business in Islington. The more we can avoid throwing things away that could be re-used, recycled, shared or repaired – the better.”

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