Sorca Clarke
Ceist:107. Deputy Sorca Clarke asked the Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment the estimated cost if the budget for the Green for Micro Programme were doubled. [45655/24]
Amharc ar fhreagraThursday, 7 November 2024
Ceisteanna (107)
Freagraí scríofa
Green for Business (formerly Green for Micro), forms part of a range of Local Enterprise Office (LEO) supports designed to help small businesses enhance their productivity and improve their competitiveness. These supports focus on the key areas of Green, Lean, and Digital, helping businesses to save time, money, and energy.
Green for Business is a free programme which helps small businesses, with up to and including 50 employees, to become more sustainable by providing two days of mentoring with a consultant. The consultant provides the small business with a Green for Business Report and recommendations, based on their findings. The objective of this programme is to help businesses in preparing for the low carbon, more resource efficient economy of the future, and to help them to take the first step towards becoming more sustainable. The Green for Business programme is also the first step requirement for any business applying for the Energy Efficiency Grant (EEG).
The EEG provides grant assistance of up to €10,000 and supports capital investment by businesses to reduce their carbon emissions and overall energy costs, by accelerating the adoption of low carbon technologies or processes identified through a Green for Business consultancy.
Under Budget 2024, an allocation of €1.3m was provided for the Green for Business programme across the 31 LEOs. Doubling this would require a budget allocation of €2.6m.