September Business Briefing
Net zero innovation fund
Suffolk’s public sector leaders have announced a £100k fund to spark net zero innovation across the county.
The ‘Net Zero Innovation Fund’ will provide grants for businesses to innovate solutions that will drive the county towards its net zero target. Businesses are invited to express their interest in the Suffolk Net Zero Innovation Fund, with a more detailed application process to follow.
Funding will be awarded to businesses with a concept that…
- Shows a clear link to net zero transition
- Is scalable
- Has potential for data collection and evaluation
- Can be evidenced as an original idea
- Can deliver outcomes by the end of 2024
More information about the terms of the grant can be seen here
Reducing energy consumption and emissions within your business
Tuesday 24 October 2023 | 10.00am-11:00am | via Zoom
Join us for this ‘free to attend webinar’ where you will hear Suffolk County Council talk about retrofitting and the process you need to follow to make changes to existing buildings, how you can help reduce energy consumption and emissions and what benefits this has for your business.
We will also be joined by Groundwork East who will provide more guidance on how you can be a Carbon Chartered Member, with other support and grants available and discuss about visitor economy.
During this webinar we will be joined by:
- Glyn Lee, Suffolk County Council
- David Barnard, Lead Sustainability Consultant at Groundwork East
Suffolk Chamber Place Forums
Suffolk Chamber of Commerce’s Place Forums allow Chamber members to come together and discuss opportunities and issues in their local area.
The next forum meeting is for Central Suffolk Chamber members from 4 to 6pm on Wednesday 25th October. It will be a chance to tour the Energy from Waste Plant at Great Blakenham and discuss local policy with Councillor Andrew Mellen the new Leader of Mid Suffolk District Council.
140 major road network consultation
Just in case you haven’t seen it, here is a link to a Suffolk County Council consultation on possible improvements to three A140 junctions
The three junctions are:
- Thornham Magna Junction (the Stoke Ash White Horse junction)
- A1120 Earl Stonham Junction
- A140/B1078 Junction
The consultation closes on 15 October.
Rural England Prosperity Fund (REPF) for businesses in Babergh and Mid Suffolk
The REPF, is a capital grants scheme with the aim of helping improve productivity and strengthen the rural economy and rural communities.
Babergh and Mid Suffolk have £998,027 to provide grants from the Rural Business Growth Fund, the Rural Culture & Creativity Fund and the Rural Communities Fund.
Grants are available between £5,000 - £10,000 per application and will fund a maximum of 50% of total project costs up to the maximum value of £10,000.
Eligible projects include net-zero developments, agriculture and farm diversification, visitor economy business expansion as well as SME investment and diversification or investment in community facilities in the rural areas of Babergh and Mid Suffolk.
Businesses can check their eligibility before applying by emailing: BMSDCeconomicdevelopment@baberghmidsuffolk.gov.uk
More information on the grants can be found on the BMSDC website:
https://heartofsuffolk.co.uk/invest/business-support/grants-and-funding/rural-spf-fund/
Bury St Edmunds Jobs & Skills Fair
All business sectors and training providers are invited to attend the Job Centre Plus Bury St Edmunds Jobs and Skills Fair on 4 October from 10am to 12:30pm, at the Apex. Register your interest today
West Suffolk Skills Debate
Calling all employers who work in the Digital and Tech space!!!
As part of the West Suffolk Business Festival 2023 West Suffolk College will be opening our doors to showcase our state-of-the-art XR Lab.
We invite you along to network, add your thoughts to a future skills debate, and also view our exciting facilities.
Thursday 5th October 2023 - 8.00am - 10.00am - University and Professional Development Centre, Bury St Edmunds, IP33 3SP
Overcoming the challenges of an everchanging labour market
As part of the West Suffolk Business Festival 2023 please join this FREE West Suffolk College ZOOM session on recruitment and challenges we all face as employers with understanding the changing landscape of the talent pool.
This workshop sets out the complexity of managing a multi-generational workforce and how companies need to incorporate each generation's demands, and adapting to a new working environment.
Friday 13th October 2023 - 9.00am - 11.00am - Online via Zoom
Your Police Your Say
The Police and Crime Commissioner, Tim Passmore and Chief Constable, Rachel Kearton are hosting a series of meetings across the county in the coming weeks.
They will give updates on the Right Care Right Person initiative which the Constabulary is launching next month, and the new county policing model which goes live in December 2023 and will be pleased to discuss any other matter that arises.
Meetings will be held across the county through September and October with also an on-line meeting in November.
These are:
WEST AREA: Thursday September 21 2023 at Bury Town Football Club, Cotton Lane, Bury St Edmunds IP33 1XP
SOUTH AREA: Wednesday October 4 2023 at Police Headquarters, Portal Avenue, Martlesham IP5 3QS
EAST AREA: Tuesday October 10 2023 at Wherry Hotel, Bridge Road, Oulton Broad, Lowestoft NR32 3LN
MID SUFFOLK: Tuesday October 17 2023 at the new Stowmarket Police Station, IP14 2QU
All meetings start at 6.30pm and there is no need to book, just turn up on the evening. There is parking available at all the venues.
There is also an on-line meeting on Tuesday November 7 2023 at 6pm via Microsoft Teams. Please email spcc@suffolk.police.uk to register and an invite will be sent through via email in advance of the meeting.
Visitor economy and net zero
Suffolk Growth Partnership has teamed up with Groundwork East to provide a visitor economy focus on Net Zero for local businesses.
Three webinars, taking place over October and November, have been designed to support hospitality (pubs, restaurants and hotels), visitor attractions and food and retail businesses on their Net Zero journey.
Learn what steps each of these visitor economy hospitality businesses can take to reduce their carbon emissions and reduce costs, hear what Carbon Charter businesses are doing to decarbonise the Visitor Economy and learn what support is available.
Click here to read more and register
EV chargepoint grants available
OZEV champions the take-up of electric vehicles (EV) and the development of chargepoint infrastructure across the UK. They currently have several EV charging infrastructure grant schemes open for application including:
- Private rental properties, flats and social housing with private off-street parking spaces.
- Small businesses, public sector organisations and charities to install chargepoints in their workplace carparks.
Suffolk Chamber of Commerce's Place Forums are where ideas spark, collaborations flourish, and real change is ignited.
The Suffolk Chamber of Commerce Place Forums allow Chamber Members in the area to come together and discuss local opportunities and issues. These meetings are held in person, twice per year, and travel around the Districts to ensure everyone has the chance to attend.
The Place Forums are the ideal platform to meet with decisions-makers and thought-leaders to help shape local policy and drive issues forward. At each meeting we typically welcome 25 directors, managers and chief executives in a range of sectors from across the District. We hear presentations with Q&A, then have a chance to network, sometimes with a venue tour or demonstration from our host.
Read about the latest Place Forums below.
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Suffolk Chamber