BARROW Borough Council is offering free support to a number of businesses to help them cut their energy bills and reduce carbon emissions.

The one-to-one support, given by expert advisors led by Cumbria Action for Sustainability (CAfS), will mean that each business will get a building energy audit and recommendations for reducing energy use and potential for renewable energy generation.

They will also benefit from a carbon footprint calculation, environmental impact audit and bespoke advice on how to reduce the business’s broader carbon emissions.

Molly Hogg, CAfS Low Carbon Communities Manager, said: “As the county’s climate change charity, we’re really pleased to be supporting the businesses in Barrow to help them identify where they can improve their sustainability, both in terms of energy efficiency in their building and throughout the business, for instance transport and materials.

“We’ll work with each business normally over a two-month period convenient to them so that they can fit the support in at a manageable pace.”

The building energy audit will be carried out on site and will look at the nature of the building, and the energy systems in place. 

The energy advisors will check roofs for suitability for solar panels and whether new technologies, such as heat pumps, would be viable alternatives.

Businesses will then receive the results within a report with recommendations that will best suit the business to improve their energy efficiency, reducing their emissions and decreasing their bills.

To be eligible for support, the business needs to have a business address within the Barrow Borough Council area.

Councillor Ann Thomson, the leader of Barrow Borough Council, said: “This is a superb opportunity to get free, friendly, expert advice on site to help identify the best ways individual businesses across the borough can reduce carbon emissions and cut their energy bills."

This free support is funded by the European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and Cumbria Local Economic Partnership Growth Deal programme. 

For more details and to apply for the support, which is offered on a first-come-first-served basis, see www.cafs.org.uk/for-businesses/cafs-low-carbon-business-support-in-barrow.