Climate Springboard Demo Day
On Monday 24 April, ECCI hosted the Climate Springboard Demo Day event for small and medium-sized enterprises, aimed at helping business owners and employees to tackle the most common difficulties businesses experience on their de-carbonisation journeys.
The ECCI Climate Springboard Programme, run in partnership with the Royal Bank of Scotland, has taught over 50 SMEs how to reduce fuel and electricity consumption to deliver cost savings and lower their carbon footprints.
Practical and interactive workshops were run throughout the afternoon, empowering participants to calculate their carbon footprint, create an effective carbon reduction plan and monitor their gas and electricity consumption so they could effectively identify cost savings and the quick actions required to get started.
Many businesses report feeling overwhelmed by the different activities involved with reducing energy consumption. Therefore, the team introduced their supplementary pilot 30-day heating bill reduction plans for heat and electricity, breaking down low and no cost actions that can be completed in less than 30 minutes per day.
Event attendees were also provided with examples of ways to successfully engage with their employees so they can assist with the process and even replicate the energy saving measures within their own homes. Additionally, there was an overview of the wider support on offer, alongside products and services available to finance any larger scale steps required for lowering energy costs.
Multiple pieces of equipment designed to help reduce energy consumption and bill expenditure within businesses and even the home were showcased for our enthusiastic event participants to experience in person. These items, most of which were low-cost, ranged from smart technologies, such as energy monitors and heating and lighting controls through to removeable window and pipe insulation. Attendees could even see infrared heating options in action. Nearly all the solutions demonstrated could be utilised within both owned and leased premises.
The ECCI Partnerships Team, who manage the programme on behalf of ECCI, personally pre-tested the range of de-carbonising kit on offer, sharing their learnings and tailoring advice based on the individualised needs of each business at the event.
Participants were then provided with the opportunity to test the equipment in their business settings after the event, prior to committing to purchases.
By the end of the day, attendees were armed with carbon reduction plan templates, which they could start actioning in the weeks ahead. There were also plenty of networking opportunities utilised by the like-minded SMEs. Challenges and solutions were shared as the businesses prepared to take their first steps on their decarbonisation journeys with new-found confidence.
Event attendee and Climate Springboard participant Diana Brogdon, from homelssness charity Cyrenians, said “I got a lot out of ithe Demo Day and it has given us new energy for moving forward with our sustainability plans."
Climate Springboard
Climate Springboard is a partnership, between ECCI, the University of Edinburgh and Royal Bank of Scotland, designed to empower Scottish companies and help them become ready to take advantage of the net zero economy.
If you have any questions about Climate Springboard or would like to try our 30-day heating and electricity bill reduction plans, please email: climatespringboard@ed.ac.uk.