Our story
The MaCaW Project (Making Carbon Work) is an EU ERDF Low-Carbon Project. Based out of the University of Central Lancashire, the project supports Lancashire-based Small and Medium size Enterprises (SMEs) in reducing their carbon footprint.
Traditionally SMEs, especially the smaller businesses, are often described as 'hard to reach', but with these businesses making up 20% of the total UK carbon emissions it is clearly an area that requires action and support.
Based within the University, the project can tap into the wealth of knowledge and experience of leading academics. Our project director, Professor Karl Williams is an academic and industry lead specialist in waste management. We also have access to academics with expertise on renewable energy and more efficient business practices/process.
For example, the aviation sector is under more pressure than ever before to reduce the emissions created in the lifecycle of an aeroplane, and finding a greener way to continue to supply the aerospace industry is paramount. The MaCaW Project worked with T&R Precision Engineering, a leading aerospace supplier, in helping the business find low-carbon ways of working. In total the company has reduced its carbon footprint by 60 tonnes a year, reducing its annual electricity bill by almost £20,000.
MaCaW was also able to offer a grant to T&R Precision Engineering to part-fund the installation of large solar panels on the roof of the new factory. The solar PV system will cover the 6,000 square foot facility. With a £15,000 grant towards the total cost, the capital outlay for T&R Engineering was more manageable in the short term, with the system paying for itself in half the time. The system offsets 22.51 tonnes of carbon emissions per year.
Tim Maddison, T&R MD, says: "We always had it in our minds that we wanted to reduce our carbon footprint but working with MaCaW allowed us to focus our minds and make the initial outlay easier to justify. As a result, the scheme will now pay for itself in energy bill savings within two years, meaning that from 2023 we can invest that money in our company and our staff."
Our advice
The SMEs that we have engaged with are becoming increasingly more aware of their role and importance in our shared global interest of reducing CO2 emissions. This has allowed for high levels of success vs targets following our engagement. Also, general uptake of the project has been high with a healthy pipeline that has continued since our early stages of the project.
We have found working with Lancashire-wide business support networks such as BOOST incredibly helpful in spreading the word, especially in the early stages. We have also found success in leaflet dropping smaller, more traditional manufacturing businesses who are normally viewed as 'harder to reach'.
The grant funding element of the project is obviously a big draw to for SMEs, especially those looking to make investments into low-carbon technology.
Our Changeprint
Our Changeprint can be measured by the number of SMEs we work with (over 150); energy savings that can be reinvested into the SME's business; amount of CO2e emissions saved (1,490 tonnes); and the increased awareness by SMEs of their role and importance in reducing our collective greenhouse gas emissions.
