Article fromStaffs4Europe.EU Publication date: 2019-02-05 Title: The Low Carbon Business Evolution Programme (LCBEP) will help businesses across Stoke-on-Trent & Staffordshire LEP reduce their carbon footprint and increase energy efficiency. Subtitle: Since January 2016 a total of 107 businesses have received advice and support, with over £600,000 being invested in carbon saving technology Author: Cliff Mitchell Since January 2016 a total of 107 businesses across Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire have received advice and support, with over £600,000 being invested in carbon saving technology. The programme is supported by the European Regional Development Fund. Feedback has included:     “..enabled us to save money and energy and has made the company both greener and more efficient”     “The grant money enabled us to subsequently increase turnover by 38% in the last 12 months”     “Changes to our heating system have made our building a more comfortable place to work and removing the old storage heaters has allowed us to improve the layout of the offices and meeting room” Following the successes of the sben/LCBEP project it has been extended for a further 3 years and will now run until the end of December 2021. Targets for the next 3 years are even more ambitious – focusing on carbon savings through Energy Efficiency they include:     To support a further 120 businesses     To make a total grant pot of £661,500 available (up to a maximum of £20k per business)     To save over 1050 tonnes of carbon annually. A list of case study businesses in Staffordshire that have benefitted from the programme, including Hardy Signs, can be found here. Guidance and support is available from the sben/LCBEP team of experts to SMEs within Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire - please click here for more details.