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Paying for it: grants, green finance and customer programmes
The cheapest reductions pay for themselves. For the ones that need capital, there are four sources: government grants, your bank's green products, your energy supplier, and your own customers' programmes.
How do small businesses pay for carbon reductions?
Mostly out of the energy bill they stop paying. LED lighting, heating controls, compressed-air repairs, route planning and renewable tariffs cost little and return the money within a year or two. The items that need capital, usually solar panels, heat pumps, electric vehicles and new equipment, are paid for from four sources: government grants and tax relief, green loans from banks, schemes run by energy suppliers, and programmes your own customers fund for their suppliers. Most suppliers use two or three of these together.
What grants exist?
It depends on your country and often your region, and the schemes change, so search rather than rely on a list. Three places to start.
- UK: the government's Find a grant service lists open schemes and lets you check eligibility. Local growth hubs and councils often run energy-efficiency grants for small businesses, and the UK Business Climate Hub points to current ones.
- US: the DSIRE database, run by North Carolina State University, lists federal, state and utility incentives for renewables and efficiency by location. Free to search.
- EU and elsewhere: national energy agencies and development banks run SME decarbonisation schemes. France's Mission Transition Écologique finds public grants for your business from a few questions, and Singapore's Energy Efficiency Grant co-funds pre-approved efficient equipment for SMEs. Your chamber of commerce or industry association usually knows the current ones.
Most grants fund an energy audit, a share of the capital cost of efficiency or renewable measures, or both. An audit is often the first thing to apply for, because it produces the costed list that later applications need.
Your customer will accept: a plan that says which actions are self-funding and which need capital, with the funding route named for each. Customers do not expect you to spend money you do not have; they expect a plan.
What do banks offer?
Most major banks now have a green or sustainability-linked loan or asset-finance product for small businesses, typically for solar, heat pumps, electric vehicles and efficient equipment, sometimes at a lower rate than their standard lending. Asset finance for electric vans is widely available. Ask your existing bank first, because it already knows your business, and compare with a second. Bring the energy audit and the payback figures; green products usually need them.
Can my energy supplier help?
Often. Energy suppliers run efficiency schemes, smart-meter and monitoring offers, and solar or heat-pump installation with finance attached. Some will put on-site solar on your roof at no capital cost and sell you the electricity under a power purchase deal. These are worth comparing with a bank-financed purchase, because the ownership and the saving differ.
What are customer supplier programmes?
Some large customers fund or subsidise reductions in their supply chain, because your reduction is their Scope 3 reduction. Forms include free training, a funded energy audit, preferential finance arranged through the customer's bank, group buying of renewable electricity, and in some sectors direct co-investment in a supplier's project. If a customer has sent you an emissions request, ask them in the reply whether they run a supplier programme. It costs nothing to ask and it is a question customers like to be asked.
How do I decide what to fund first?
By payback, then by what your customer has asked for. Rank the actions from your plan (ClimateMate produces one free, ranked, from real-world case studies) by cost and annual saving. Do the self-funding ones now. For the capital items, apply for an audit grant first, then match each item to a funding source: grant where one exists, asset finance for vehicles and equipment, a supplier or PPA deal for solar if you would rather not own it.
Do this week: search the grant database for your country for "energy audit" and "small business". Ask your customer, in your next reply, whether they run a supplier programme.
What should I do next?
With funding routes identified, the Lead stage turns the actions into a one-page reduction plan with owners and dates. If your customer uses DitchCarbon, claim your profile and record planned actions with their dates.
Where to get help
- Green Economy Financing Facilities (GEFF): EBRD green loans for efficient and renewable equipment through local partner banks, with a technology finder. Free information, country pages in local languages; the loans are through partner banks.
- IFC climate finance through local banks: how IFC-backed green credit lines reach small businesses through local banks, so you know what to ask your bank for. Free, site also in Japanese, French and Arabic.
- ClimateMate: a free decarbonisation plan builder, backed by real-world case studies, that ranks your actions with the cost and saving of each, so you know what to fund. Free.
- SME Climate Hub Action Space: guides by topic, including finance for small businesses. Free with registration, also in Arabic, Spanish, Swedish, French and Portuguese.
In your country
Local calculators, grants and advice for this guide, where we have them. See all countries →
Australia
- CEFC Consumer and business finance: Clean Energy Finance Corporation. Discounted green loans for equipment and vehicles via listed lenders. In English. Loan.
- Energy Savings Scheme NSW: NSW Government (via business.gov.au), NSW. Incentives for lighting, HVAC and refrigeration upgrades. In English. Incentive.
Austria
- Umweltförderung: Betriebe (Environmental funding for businesses): Kommunalkredit Public Consulting (for the federal ministry). Searchable federal grants for business efficiency, heat, mobility. In German. Grant.
Belgium
- KMO-portefeuille (SME wallet): VLAIO, Flanders. Subsidy for SME training, with a higher rate for energy-efficiency training. In Dutch. Grant.
Brazil
- Fundo Clima (Climate Fund): BNDES. Finance for green machinery and efficiency, MSME access via partner banks. In Portuguese. Loan.
Canada
- Green funding programs for Canadian businesses: BDC. List of 60+ federal and provincial green grants, tax credits and loans. In English and French. Free.
- Save on Energy: For Your Small Business: IESO, Ontario. Ontario small-business efficiency incentives and free upgrades. In English and French. Free.
- Programme ÉcoPerformance: Implantation standard (ÉcoPerformance standard implementation): Gouvernement du Québec, Quebec. Up to 75% of costs for projects that cut fossil fuel or process emissions. In French. Free to apply.
- Programme ÉcoPerformance: Analyse de mesures de réduction des GES (Funding for GHG reduction studies): Gouvernement du Québec, Quebec. Funding to analyse reduction options before investing. In French. Free to apply.
- Fonds Écoleader (Ecoleader Fund): FAQDD, Quebec. Grants for SMEs adopting eco-responsible practices and clean tech. In French. Free to apply. Closed for now.
Chile
- Crédito Verde (Green credit): CORFO. Finance through banks for renewables, efficiency and circular projects. In Spanish. Loan.
Czechia
- Nové úspory energie (OP TAK) (New Energy Savings loan): Národní rozvojová banka. 0% loan for business energy-saving projects. In Czech. Loan.
Denmark
- SMV:Grøn (SME:Green grant): Dansk Industri (Erhvervsstyrelsen programme). Voucher grant for SME green advice or investment. In Danish. Grant.
Egypt
- برنامج تمويل الاقتصاد الأخضر (GEFF مصر) (EBRD green credit line, Egypt): EBRD. Green loans and grant support via Egyptian banks. In Arabic and English. Loan.
Finland
- Energiatuki (Energy aid): Business Finland. Co-funding for energy-saving investments and audits. In Finnish. Grant.
France
- Prêt Vert (Green loan): Bpifrance. Loan of €50k to €5m for energy and ecological transition projects at SMEs. In French. Loan.
- Mission Transition Écologique (Ecological transition support finder): ADEME with Bpifrance, CCI France, CMA France. Answer a few questions to find public grants and a local adviser. In French. Free.
Germany
- Klimaschutzoffensive für den Mittelstand (KfW 293) (Climate offensive for SMEs): KfW. Loans up to €25m plus a climate grant for SME climate investments. In German. Loan plus grant.
- Bundesförderung Energie- und Ressourceneffizienz in der Wirtschaft (EEW) (Federal energy and resource efficiency funding): BAFA. Grants for efficient equipment, renewable process heat, energy management, transformation plans. In German. Grant.
Ghana
- SUNREF Ghana: Energy Commission Ghana (AFD/EU). Green loans via local banks, up to 10% grant, free technical help. In English. Loan.
India
- MSE-GIFT scheme (Green loan interest subvention): Ministry of MSME, run by SIDBI. Interest subvention and credit guarantee on green-tech loans for small firms. In English. Loan support.
Ireland
- Support Scheme for Energy Audits: SEAI. €2,000 voucher towards an SME energy audit. In English. Grant.
Italy
- Piano Transizione 5.0 (Transition 5.0 tax credit): MIMIT. Tax credit for energy-saving investments; current round closed, successor scheme pending. In Italian. Tax credit. Closed for now.
Japan
- 環境・エネルギー対策資金 (Environment and energy loan): Japan Finance Corporation. Low-interest loans for energy-saving and renewable equipment. In Japanese. Loan.
- 中小企業等のカーボンニュートラル支援策 (METI SME carbon neutral support measures): METI. One list of national subsidies, loans and tax measures. In Japanese. Free.
Jordan
- GEFF الأردن (EBRD green credit line, Jordan): EBRD. Green loans via Jordanian banks. In Arabic and English. Loan.
Mexico
- Eco-Crédito Empresarial Masivo (Business eco-credit): FIDE. Credit for MSMEs to replace refrigeration, lighting, AC and install solar. In Spanish. Loan.
Morocco
- Comment financer sa décarbonation (How to finance decarbonisation): CGEM. Overview of Moroccan and international green finance and grants. In French. Free.
- TATWIR: Croissance Verte (Tatwir Green Growth): Ministry of Industry and Trade, Maroc PME, AMEE. Support for industrial SMEs to decarbonise. Arabic: mcinet.gov.ma/ar/content/ttwyr-nmw-akhdr. In French, Arabic and English. Grant.
- GEFF Maroc (EBRD green credit line, Morocco): EBRD. Green loans plus investment grants via partner banks. In French and English. Loan.
Netherlands
- Energie-investeringsaftrek (EIA) (Energy investment allowance): RVO. Deduct 40% of qualifying energy investments from taxable profit. In Dutch. Tax allowance.
- Circulair ondernemen (Circular business): RVO. Circular strategies, a raw material risk scanner and subsidies. In Dutch. Free.
New Zealand
- EECA products for business: Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority. Programmes and co-funding for SMEs cutting energy and fuel use. In English. Free / co-funding.
Norway
- Enova: Bedrift (Enova for business): Enova SF. Support schemes for energy and climate measures, by sector. In Norwegian. Grant.
Portugal
- Fundo Ambiental (Environmental Fund): Ministério do Ambiente. Open calls funding climate projects; check calls open to companies. In Portuguese. Grant.
Singapore
- Energy Efficiency Grant: Enterprise Singapore. Up to 70% co-funding for SMEs on pre-approved efficient equipment. In English. Grant.
South Korea
- 소상공인 에너지효율향상 지원사업 (Small business energy efficiency support): Korea Energy Agency. Up to 70% of the cost of high-efficiency equipment. In Korean. Grant.
- 에너지절약시설투자 자금지원 및 세제지원 (Energy-saving investment loans and tax credit): Korea Energy Agency. Low-interest loans plus an investment tax credit. In Korean. Loan / tax credit.
Spain
- Ayudas y financiación IDAE (IDAE grants and funding): IDAE. Energy grant programmes: industrial efficiency, renewable heat, fleet electrification. In Spanish. Grant.
Sweden
- Klimatklivet (The Climate Leap): Naturvårdsverket. Investment grants for physical measures that cut emissions. In Swedish. Grant.
Switzerland
- Stiftung KliK (KliK Foundation): Stiftung KliK. Pays companies for verified CO2 reductions in Swiss projects. In German, French and Italian. Payments to companies.
Tunisia
- Financement (DecarboAct) (Financing decarbonisation): ANME / DecarboAct. Grants, green loans and tax incentives. In French. Free.
- GEFF Tunisie (EBRD green credit line, Tunisia): EBRD. Green loans and grants via Tunisian banks. In French and English. Loan.
Türkiye
- Verimlilik Artırıcı Proje (VAP) Destekleri (Efficiency project grants): Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. Grant covering 30% of an energy-efficiency investment. In Turkish. Grant.
- Enerji ve Karbon Azaltımı (EKA) Destek Programı (Energy and carbon reduction support): Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources. Pays back part of a year's energy bill if you cut energy or carbon intensity. In Turkish. Grant.
- Yeşil Mutabakata Uyum Projesi Desteği (Responsible Programı) (Green Deal compliance support): Ministry of Trade. Pays consultancy fees for exporters' baseline and sustainability roadmap. In Turkish. Grant.
- GEFF Türkiye facilities: EBRD. EBRD green credit lines for Turkish SMEs via local banks. In English. Loan.
US
- DSIRE (Database of State Incentives for Renewables and Efficiency): NC Clean Energy Technology Center, NC State University. Search state and federal efficiency and renewables incentives by ZIP code. In English. Free.
- Rural Energy for America Program (REAP): USDA Rural Development. Grants and loan guarantees for rural small businesses; grants currently closed. In English. Free to apply. Closed for now.
- 504 loans: US Small Business Administration. Long-term fixed-rate loans for equipment, including energy-efficiency projects. In English. Loan.
Uruguay
- Certificados de Eficiencia Energética (Energy Efficiency Certificates): MIEM. Cash reward for verified energy savings (2026 call closes 27 Oct). In Spanish. Free to apply.
- Línea de Asistencia para la Eficiencia Energética (Energy efficiency assistance line): MIEM. Part-funding for energy audits. In Spanish. Partial grant.
EBRD countries (regional)
- Green Economy Financing Facilities (GEFF): EBRD. Green loans for efficient and renewable equipment through local partner banks, with a technology finder. In English. Free info; loans.
Latin America (regional)
- Pymes Verdes LAC (Green SMEs Latin America): CAF with the Green Climate Fund. Concessional green credit via local banks plus footprint and efficiency help. In Spanish. Loan.
Looking for another country? See free help by country.
Common questions
Are there grants for small businesses to reduce carbon emissions?
Yes, varying by country and region. In the UK, search the government's Find a grant service; in the US, the DSIRE database; elsewhere, national energy agencies. Most fund an energy audit or a share of efficiency and renewable measures.
How do small businesses pay for solar panels or heat pumps?
Grants where they exist, green loans or asset finance from banks, energy supplier schemes including no-capital solar under a power purchase deal, and sometimes customer supplier programmes.
Do customers help suppliers fund emissions reductions?
Some do, through free training, funded audits, preferential finance, group renewable purchasing or co-investment, because your reduction is their Scope 3 reduction. Ask in your reply.
Which carbon reductions pay for themselves?
LED lighting, heating controls, compressed-air repairs, switching off out of hours, route planning and renewable tariffs. They typically return the cost within one to two years through lower bills.
What should a small business apply for first?
An energy audit grant. It produces the costed list of measures that later grant and finance applications need.
Get help
Email suppliersupport@ditchcarbon.com and hear back within two working days. Free, whether or not your customer uses DitchCarbon.
Free, takes about 30 seconds, and is where your customer reads your answer from.
