Media Release: EEC welcomes smart investment in business productivity 27 April 2022
The Energy Efficiency Council today welcomed the Liberal-National Coalition’s commitment to provide $60 million in grants for energy efficiency in small and medium businesses.
Luke Menzel, Chief Executive Officer of the Council, described the announcement as an important step to help Australia’s businesses start the transition towards achieving net zero by 2050.
‘Australia’s SMEs are challenged by high energy bills and volatile gas prices given the current situation in Ukraine. This announcement will give smaller firms a rock-solid business case to upgrade to more productive, efficient equipment’, Mr Menzel said.
Energy efficiency could save households and businesses up to $7.7 billion each year on their energy bills, and has been the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions reductions this century.
‘Energy efficiency is the cheapest and most practical way to deliver the emissions reductions we need to achieve net zero,’ he said.
Australia’s industrial energy efficiency has been playing catch-up for the last three decades, with our energy productivity a long way behind leaders like the UK, Japan and Germany.
‘There are big opportunities for improvement in industrial energy efficiency in Australia, and programs like these are a good start.’
The Powering Business program, if implemented, would deliver grants of up to $25,000 to small businesses, with a turnover up to $10 million and up to 20 employees, with no requirement for matched funding. Grants of up to $50,000 will be available to medium businesses, with a turnover up to $50 million and up to 200 employees, with a requirement for matched funding.
Contact: Alex St John, Senior Advisor, Policy and Research
alex.stjohn@eec.org.au
0413 698 181
Twitter - @EECouncil