Greening Businesses Scheme

Guidance and the application process for our Greening Businesses Scheme, helping local businesses to understand and reduce their carbon emissions.

We have launched a new Greening Businesses Scheme to support local businesses to understand and reduce their carbon emissions. 

We’re working closely with the Cumbria Business Environment Network (CBEN) Partnership on this scheme.

The CBEN Partnership – Providing Environmental Support to Business

One of our key values is to be ecologically aware and the scheme will help us to provide leadership and deliver on our ambitions to: 

  • become a carbon net zero council by 2037
  • reduce carbon emissions
  • reduce air pollution 
  • promote a greener economy 
  • protect and enhance our natural environment, and 
  • improve the health and wellbeing of the residents in our area 

We have previously worked with CBEN on a Greening Eden Business Scheme, which has now closed. 

Guidance on applying for the scheme

Eligibility criteria 

To be eligible for the scheme, you must be a local business, based in Westmorland and Furness and:

  • be a declared, with its own bank account 
  • be a medium, small or micro-enterprise (SME)
  • have business premises in the Westmorland and Furness area 
  • be properly managed, and
  • have audited accounts and be financially transparent

We cannot accept applications from:

  • public sector organisations 
  • organisations with less than 50% of their income or profits derived from business trading 
  • large businesses (more than 250 employees, an annual turnover exceeding £36 million) or a balance sheet total exceeding £18 million) 
  • business that are not physically located in the Westmorland and Furness area

Before you start your application 

You must provide all the supporting documents required with your application. This includes copies of:

  • your most recent annual accounts 
  • equality policies or statement 
  • safeguarding policies, if applicable to your business 

Please contact us if you need any help completing this form, or if you need it in a different format or language. 

If you need assistance, you can:

How to apply

Greening Businesses Scheme Application Form (PDF , 186.77 KB)

The closing date for applications is Friday 29 November 2024.

You can send your application form to us by email, to the Climate and Nature Team

You can also send it by letter, to:

The Climate and Nature Team
Voreda House 
Portland Place
Penrith
CA11 7QS

How your application will be assessed

Your application will be assessed on your business’ ability to:

  • demonstrate actions or ambitions to reduce your carbon emissions 
  • provide an aspiration to develop green measures within your activities and operations 
  • contribute to a greener local economy 

We will not make more than one award during 2024/2025 to the same business.

How your application will be processed  

We’ll make an initial assessment once we receive your application. We’ll check that your business is eligible and that all the supporting documents we need have been provided. 

We may need to contact you if there’s any missing from your application (such as information documents) or if we need you to clarify something. 

We aim to acknowledge receipt of your application within five working days. This will be by email, unless you have not provided an email address. If this is the case, we’ll post a letter to you. 

Eligible applications (with all documents that are required) will then be forwarded to the Greening Business Panel to review. 

The Panel is made up of several key partners from the Westmorland and Furness area. They influence projects that improve the sustainability, vitality and well-being of local communities.

The Panel will meet to review all the applications. The applications will be presented to them in a summary format, and we will make the full applications available to them. 

The Panel will evaluate the applications on the criteria set out above. They will then decide which applications are to be awarded a free carbon assessment. 

We’ll inform you of the outcome of your application within five working days of the Panel meeting. This will usually be by email. If you’re unsuccessful, feedback will be available. 

We’ll advise CBEN if your application is approved. We’ll instruct them to contact you and complete the energy audit and carbon footprint report. CBEN will send copies of the report to us and you.