This scheme will support Co-operative Societies, Community Benefit Societies and Charitable Community Benefit Societies based in England to undertake activities which reduce their energy usage, or identify alternative sources of energy, leading to a reduction of both the organisation's carbon footprint and energy bills.
Eligible activities could include but are not limited to:
- Installation of new on-site energy/heating generation measures (eg solar panels, heat pumps)
- Installation of new energy efficiency measures in a building (eg insulation, LED lighting, double glazing, draft-proofing, improved doors)
- Improvements to other aspects of operations (e.g. changes to more energy efficient equipment, transport upgrade)
Energy Efficiency Sharematch is a £250,000 fund administered by Crowdfunder, working with Co-operatives UK and funded by Access – The Foundation for Social Investment using funds from the Dormant Assets Scheme, which redirects money from forgotten accounts to good causes.
The fund will run until March 2025, with the ambition to award all funds before this time.