SUSTAINABILITY
Smart
ideas
Alex Molokwu’s
Co Work Hub
improved its
lighting with
a grant
A business in Acton is slashing its electricity bills after being one of those to have
benefited from energy advice and grants from the council.
C
o Work Hub offers shared
is £1,000 and the maximum £5,000.
office space in Victoria
A survey of the Co Work Hub
Road, North Acton, giving
identified savings worth up to
small businesses and
£10,000 a year, including tips on
entrepreneurs somewhere to work
waste, air conditioning and ways
and meet, with desks, breakout areas,
to improve its heating system. The
meeting rooms and even a gym.
biggest change was switching its
The business was awarded a £5,000
lighting to more efficient LED bulbs,
grant to upgrade their
reducing the lighting
lighting systems, as
bill by 80%. LEDs can
‘It helped us cut
part of a new scheme
last up to 10 times
our electricity bill’ as long as traditional
introduced by Ealing
Council. Its smart
incandescent bulbs and
business grants are designed to help
the investment is expected to ‘pay
small and medium sized businesses
back’ within a year.
in the borough to help become more
Alex Molokwu, owner of Co Work
energy efficient.
Hub, said: “The programme was
It all starts with a free survey designed extremely useful in helping us to
to help identify ways to reduce the
cut our expensive electricity bill and
costs of things like heating and water.
achieve our green office vision. The
Once a series of measures has been
support provided by Ealing Council has
identified, a support package of up to
been invaluable and we applied for the
50% of costs may be made available,
full £5,000 grant towards lighting and
with the remainder match-funded by the heating system upgrades which will
business. The minimum grant awarded
save us almost £10,000 every year.”
All types of small and medium sized
businesses can apply and benefit
from the smart business grant. So
far, businesses as diverse as staircase
manufacturers and fish and chip shops
have successfully applied.
Council leader Julian Bell said: “By
reducing their energy consumption
businesses are not only reducing their
costs, they’re reducing their impact
on the environment. That’s good for
their reputation and it’s good for our
borough, making it cleaner and healthier
place for us all to live and work.”
MORE INFO
■
Register an interest
and find out more about
the smart business grants
by visiting
www.ealing.gov.uk/sbg
or emailing
[email protected]
around ealing
Autumn 2016
43