The NN2NZ Boost for Business (NN2NZ B4B) programme is an innovative business decarbonization support initiative specifically designed for SMEs in North Northamptonshire. The program will featuring strategic workshops and webinars tailored for SMEs to comprehensively assess and reduce their carbon footprint.
The NN2NZ Boost for Business programme is led by Electric Places in collaboration with North Northamptonshire Council and is funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund. Read our Press Release below:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
NN2NZ Boost for Business (NN2NZ B4B) Programme Launches to Empower Local SMEs Towards a Sustainable Future.
Electric Places (a trading name of Electric Corby), a leading community interest company (CIC) dedicated to guiding organisations, places, and people to net zero, is excited to announce the launch of the NN2NZ Boost for Business (NN2NZ B4B) programme working with North Northamptonshire Council. This innovative initiative, aimed at North Northamptonshire (NN) SMEs, is set to help businesses develop tailored carbon reduction strategies and foster a green, thriving local economy.
The NN2NZ Boost for Business programme, led by Electric Places and funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, is designed to assist NN businesses to recognise the benefits of carbon reduction. By formulating comprehensive carbon action plans and assisting with access to grant funds, the programme aims to accelerate North Northamptonshire’s transition to a low-carbon future.
Key Programme Highlights:
The programme will host a series of strategic workshops covering crucial topics such as the financial benefits of decarbonisation, accessing capital grants, and skills development. These sessions will help empower businesses to make informed decisions and embrace sustainable practices.
Businesses will have the opportunity to access data gathering toolkits for free, empowering them to collect crucial data to construct compelling low carbon business cases. This includes tools to assess building fabric efficiency, equipment energy use, and electric vehicle (EV) transition opportunities.
The programme will provide expert guidance to businesses, helping them access, analyse, and interpret the collected data, develop business cases for low carbon investment and receiving assistance with funding applications for available R&D capital grants. More detail of these grants, managed by the Council and funded by the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, will be released in the coming months.
The programme aims to engage diverse businesses across all sectors in both urban and rural areas of NN. The overarching goal is to engage 300 SME businesses across various sectors, with a focus on ensuring that at least 10% of these businesses benefit from free data gathering toolkits and expert guidance.
A full public launch is expected in April this year, followed by a series of workshops starting in June and running through to December.
“This programme aims to foster a greener, thriving local economy in North Northamptonshire as the UK pushes toward a more climate positive future. By providing workshops, toolkits, and expert guidance, we aim to support our SME business community to drive impactful carbon reduction actions, ultimately contributing to a more sustainable and resilient future for North Northamptonshire.” – Nick Bolton, Co-founder of Electric Places
Cllr David Brackenbury, North Northamptonshire Council’s Executive Member for Growth and Regeneration, said: “Since the allocation of Shared Prosperity Fund for North Northants was confirmed, we have been working hard, alongside partners, to ensure it helps as many residents and businesses as possible through a variety of techniques and schemes.
“I hope this programme will make such a difference, offering a more personal touch and help to businesses who want to be more green but might not be sure on how to do it.”
Contact Information:
For more information about the NN2NZ Boost for Business (NN2NZ B4B) programme, please contact:
Tim O’Callaghan
Project Consultant
tim@electricplaces.co.uk
01536 560222
Notes to editors
The UK Shared Prosperity Fund is a central pillar of the UK government’s Levelling Up agenda and provides £2.6 billion of funding for local investment by March 2025. The Fund aims to improve pride in place and increase life chances across the UK investing in communities and place, supporting local business, and people and skills. For more information, visit https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-shared-prosperity-fund-prospectus
About Electric Places:
Electric Places, a trading name of Electric Corby, is a Community Interest Company (CIC) committed to guiding organisations and communities in Northamptonshire toward net-zero carbon emissions. Specialising in low-carbon and renewable energy, sustainable homes, and low-emission mobility, we’ve led award-winning sustainability initiatives across North Northamptonshire.
Over the last decade this has included establishing innovative renewable energy sharing communities, designing and delivering advanced eco-homes and delivering strategic plans for carbon reduction at the local authority and industrial cluster levels.
As a CIC, we’ve secured over £20 million in funding, leveraging public and private investments for clean energy projects in the region. We focus exclusively on sustainability initiatives that have the potential to boost economic growth and regeneration in Northamptonshire.
About North Northamptonshire Council:
With the Council’s declaration of a climate emergency in July 2021 and the approval of the Carbon Management Plan (CMP) in December 2022, North Northamptonshire Council has committed to working towards becoming a carbon neutral council by 2030. The CMP acts as our roadmap to deliver this ambition. It is comprised of 82 activities. The primary aim of the CMP programme is to reduce carbon emission generated by council operations. Work is also ongoing to explore ways to reduce indirect carbon emissions associated with our supply chain. A few key projects include the introduction of electric hand tools and fleet vehicles (where feasible), amending procurement requirements to include carbon reduction and sustainability questions for contracts of £100K or more, reducing energy consumption from IT equipment/ servers, decarbonising select council owned buildings, exploring renewables, and enhancing biodiversity in the local area. The Council is committed to the delivery of the CMP, and officers across the organisation are taking part in helping NNC to achieve its carbon neutral goal.
Relationship with other activity
Electric Places undertook the North Northants to Net Zero (NN2NZ) project funded by the UK Government through the UK Community Renewal Fund to develop a programme of strategic options that would enable the North Northamptonshire area to reach net zero ahead of 2050 Government targets. The project reviewed over 8,000 carbon saving initiatives for buildings, transport, energy systems, commerce, industry and food and farming. The project identified 50 key carbon saving initiatives that would enable the citizens and businesses across North Northamptonshire to reach net zero and provided a cost and risk adjusted programme of initiatives for the area to reach net zero by 2040 or earlier.
Electric Places is leading the DECODE-Corby project funded by Innovate UK. Over the next 12 months Electric Places will collaborate with partners including Tata Steel and North Northamptonshire Council to develop a decarbonisation plan for Corby’s industry to transition to economically viable low carbon alternatives and establish a body to drive the transition to a low carbon economy. Anticipated results of the project will have impacts beyond Corby including better ways to optimise grid capacity, harness waste heat, and promote renewable energy in areas constrained by grid limitations.
Electric Places is also leading Project CLEAR, funded through the Energy Industry Voluntary Redress Scheme and aims to maximise the use of local renewable energy sources, such as solar power, by aligning them with local domestic customer demand. Through state-of-the-art digital technology, renewable generation will be matched with local customers, thereby reducing the reliance on grid energy and unlocking cost-saving benefits for consumers.
North Northamptonshire Council leads the North Northamptonshire Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NNEVI) initiative which is helping to develop a network of electric vehicle charging points across the area. This project benefitted from preparatory work undertaken through the NN2NZ work.
North Northamptonshire’s BIG50 Vision
The BIG50 Vision for North Northamptonshire has set out bold aspirations for the future of the area.
The focus on net zero business and living has brought more innovative industries to the area. North Northamptonshire is increasingly known as a place that produces green energy. The aim is for the area to not only be a place where businesses are net zero carbon contributors; but a place that supports the rest of the country and beyond to decarbonise and live more sustainably through our environmentally conscious industries.
The NN2NZ Boost for Business (NN2NZ B4B) Programme aims to foster a greener, thriving local economy in North Northamptonshire as the UK pushes toward a more climate positive future. It will help deliver the environmental and business aspirations set out in the BIG50 Vision.
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