A £400,000 grants scheme has been launched to offer charities and social enterprises in the North West of England funding to meet green commitments.

The Capital Grant Scheme is managed by Eco-I North West, a research and development programme involving six of the region's universities.

On offer is 60% of funding towards charity and social enterprise projects worth between £5,000 and £25,000 that deliver sustainable products and services.

“I would encourage leaders of enterprises in the North West to start a conversation with us about how Eco-I NW could help to reduce costs and their carbon footprint, improve performance, and future proof their business in a low carbon future,” said Andy Pickard, manager of the Centre for Global Eco-Innovation, which delivers the programme.

“These grants will further support those already working with the universities and expand the benefits Eco-I NW can offer to even more SMEs to bring to market even more sustainable products, processes or services.”

The Eco-I North West programme aims to work with more than 300 SMEs in the region, supporting the development of 135 new innovative solutions which aim to save 3,850 tonnes of CO2.

Grants will support projects that can be completed and paid for by the end of March 2023.

“It is expected that in most cases there will be a single payment of grant. If a project has a staged procurement and installation this will need to be clearly set out in the application, but full and final installation must be before March 2023,” added the programme.

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