A good place to start is support organisation Durham Community Action. They offer free, impartial advice to community groups and organisations across the county. They also provide advice and information to tackle specific queries, issues, and concerns and to help to find solutions to problems, can help to develop new and existing projects and initiatives and can provide hands on help or tailored resources, including training for trustees and volunteers, governance advice and help with funding access, business planning, and funding applications.
Durham 4 Community have access to information on a range of sources of funding which could help you.
The Business Energy Efficiency Project (BEEP) was initially partially funded by the European Reginal Development Fund (ERDF) and operated in County Durham. It offered energy audits and grant funding for SMEs that were looking to improve their energy efficiency and reduce their carbon emissions. This covered installations or upgrades from heating systems to solar panels and overhauling lighting systems.
ERDF funding came to an end in March 2023, and the project is now being developed so we can still offer support to County Durham businesses in their efforts to reduce carbon emissions and costs.
While the next phase of financial support is being developed, you can still apply for a fully funded energy audit to support your decarbonising and energy efficiency efforts by filling in the beep audit request form.
