Current funding opportunities for local businesses & consultants

Posted on 23 Feb 2016

Please note: this is an old article

It was published in February 2016, so the information may be out-of-date.

You may have heard talk about Sustainability Victoria’s work towards resource efficiency for businesses. This includes support for auditors/assessors that can help a business to identify savings on their energy and material inputs and the following opportunities:

Resource efficiency - for businesses

We offer grants to eligible business to cover 50% of the cost to engage a consultant to conduct a resource assessment of your operations. NB: previous resource assessments at more than 100 Victorian businesses show average potential savings of 20% for energy, and 20-30% for materials.

Grants are capped at $5,000 for an energy assessment and $10,000 for a materials (or combined materials and energy) assessment. A $3000 implementation support bonus is available if you implement one or more recommendations from the assessment.  

 NOTE NEW closing dates:

For energy assessments: 31 March 2016.

For materials assessments (or combined material and energy assessments): 13 May 2016.

Web link for further info and eligibility.

 Materials efficiency - for consultants, auditors and assessors

If you currently offer energy audits we can you help you to learn more about material assessments. You can then offer more of the services funded under the grant program above.

Please let me know by the end of February if that is of interest, and I will organize one on one sessions (in Seymour or Shepparton) with our expert Rodney Pugh.  

 Background reading:   

What is Resource Efficiency

Conducting a Resource Assessment

Top Tips for energy and material efficiency

 Other current Sustainability Victoria grants

Research and Development grant (Focus: markets for recovered plastics and glass fines), closing 29 February 2016

Advanced Organics Processing grant (Focus: anaerobic digestion), closing 21 March 2016

Litter Innovation grant (Focus: solutions to litter and illegal dumping), closing 4 March 2016

 New Energy Jobs Fund

The Future Industries Fund from our Business Victoria colleagues may also be of interest:

New Energy Jobs Fund (Focus: job creation in new energy technology projects), closing 21 March 2016.

 I am sending you this email because you are on our database as a business/industry contact for the Hume region. I would love to see local uptake of these opportunities, which means funding flows into a sustainable local economy.

For more information please contact Martina Rienzner, Strategic Coordinator (Hume), Statewide Engagement, Sustainability Victoria M: 0408 110 431 | Ph:  03 5735 4330