Siemens and Carbon Trust launch green finance deal

Posted on 4 Mar 2011 by The Manufacturer

A joint partnership between the Carbon Trust and Siemens to provide UK businesses with green equipment finance worth up to £550m over the next three years was announced today.

The new deal will boost green growth and unlock business investment in the low carbon economy – key to the UK’s recovery. The new dedicated low carbon finance scheme will enable UK businesses to invest in cost effective energy efficiency equipment or other low carbon technologies, such as new efficient lighting and biomass heating.

All businesses will be able to apply for new green growth finance from the scheme from April 4. Siemens Financial Services in the UK will provide the financial backing and manage the provision of funding and the Carbon Trust will use its expertise in carbon saving from energy efficient technologies to assess the carbon, energy and cost savings of any application. This will enable the financing to pay for itself through energy savings.

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, commented: “Driving green growth in the UK is key to our economic recovery. A missing ingredient at present is access to affordable finance to enable business to make green investments. This new major finance facility will improve business competitiveness, cut carbon and boost green growth.”

James Gearey, CEO of Siemens Financial Services, commented: “Siemens has been reporting the performance of its environmental portfolio since 2002, not just the commercial performance, but also the hundreds of millions of tonnes of carbon emission reduction that has been delivered through Siemens technology. Siemens Financial Services has extensive experience of asset financing and lending to UK business and is particularly successful in the SME sector. This background combined with our ready access to funding means we are well placed to support the scheme and deliver the associated benefits to its future customers.”

The Carbon Trust and Siemens Financial Services have also agreed to finance a new commercial venture that will increase the take up of energy efficiency projects. This venture will offer procurement support to businesses wishing to purchase energy efficiency equipment at scale from a network of accredited suppliers and will be launched later this year.