Supports for businesses going green

Your business is encouraged to invest in sustainable products, services and business models. These efforts will help Ireland reach its target to reduce carbon emissions (greenhouse gas emissions) by 51% by 2030, and to achieve a climate neutral economy by 2050.

This page includes financial, training, and mentoring supports for companies trying to reduce their carbon footprint (total carbon emissions).

You can also get advice on practical and cost-effective ways to help tackle you carbon emissions on the Climate Toolkit 4 Business website. See an easy-to-read A-Z guide of climate action words (pdf) in the Climate Jargon Buster booklet.

Read more about climate change and the Government’s Climate Action and Low Carbon Development (Amendment) Act 2021.

The Green Transition Fund, provided by Enterprise Ireland, is divided into 2 separate parts:

1. Climate Planning Fund for Business
2. Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund

Enterprise Emissions Reduction Investment Fund

You can get up to €1m under the fund if you are a manufacturing business and a client of Enterprise Ireland, IDA Ireland or Údarás na Gaeltachta.

It provides the following financial supports to businesses:

The Energy Efficiency Grant

If your small business has fewer than 50 employees, you may be able to get up to €5,000 towards the costs of energy-efficient technology and equipment.

See full eligibility criteria for the Energy Efficiency Grant on the Local Enterprise website.

EXEED grant scheme

Excellence in Energy Efficiency Design (EXEED) is an incentive program to promote energy efficiency in business. Successful applicants can get grant support of up to €3,000,000 per project.

The EXEED grant scheme can help you fund the energy-efficient design of heating, cooling, refrigeration, compressed air, and business processes. Examples include:

• Improving insulation
• Installing air handling units with heat recovery
• Installing electric vehicle chargers
• Installing energy-efficient heating and cooling equipment

The scheme is open for applications until 22 December 2023, to any sector, any organisation and any project. Your project can be of any scale or complexity.

Read more about the EXEED Grant Scheme on the SEAI website.

Accelerated Capital Allowance

Accelerated Capital Allowance (ACA) is a tax incentive scheme. It allows a sole trader, farmer or company that pays corporation tax in Ireland to deduct the full cost of energy-efficient equipment from their profits in the year of purchase.

You must buy the new equipment for use in your trade. You cannot lease, let, or hire the equipment to anyone else.

In order to qualify for this scheme, you must make sure the equipment you buy is included in the SEAI’s list of energy-efficient equipment.

Read more about the Accelerated Capital Allowance.

Support Scheme for Renewable Heat

The Support Scheme for Renewable Heat can help your business adopt renewable heating systems by providing a grant for:

• Air source heat pumps
• Ground source heat pumps
• Water source heat pumps

The scheme is open to commercial, industrial, agricultural, district heating, public sector, and other non-domestic heat users.

Successful applicants can get an installation grant of up to 30% of eligible costs, as well as ongoing operational support for up to 15 years.

Check if you are eligible for the Support Scheme for Renewable Heat.

Electric SPSV (eSPSV) Scheme

If you own a Small Public Service Vehicle (SPSV), such as a taxi or hackney, you may be eligible for the Electric SPSV (eSPSV) Scheme.

Grant for a new eSPSV

If your application is successful, you can get a grant of up to €10,000 towards the cost of a new, full-battery eSPSV.

You can get an extra €2,500 if you convert the vehicle to a wheelchair-accessible model.

Grant to scrap an older model and buy a new eSPSV

If your application is successful, you can get up to €20,000 to scrap an older, more polluting (or high mileage) vehicle and switch to a fully electric model.

You can get up to €25,000 if the new e-taxi is wheelchair-accessible.

Check the grant rates available for scrapping your older car (pdf).

Complete the online eSPSV Scheme application form on the National Transport Authority’s website.

Solar PV Scheme

From 4 July 2023, grants for solar PV installation are available through the SEAI. Businesses of all size and public buildings, sports clubs and community organisations are eligible for grant supports.

The grants are €2,400 up to 6kWp, with an additional:

• €300/kWp for each extra kWp installed between 7kWp -20kWp
• €200/kWp for each extra kWp installed between 21kWp- 200kWp
• €150/kWp for each extra kWp installed between 201kWp-1000kWp

Applications will open soon.

Develop better sustainability awareness and practices in your business using these training and mentoring supports. We have summarised the main supports below, but check with your local enterprise office for a full list.

Green for Micro

Green for Micro is a free training programme for small businesses with 10 (or fewer) employees. Training is provided in two stages:

1. A webinar, covering examples of green initiatives and their benefits
2. Two days of mentoring with a ‘green consultant’ or trainer, including specific recommendations for your business

Climate Ready

Skillnet Ireland has launched Climate Ready, a 5-year national climate initiative. Programmes are fully funded or offered at a subsidised cost for Irish businesses and employees in the private sector.

The Climate Ready Academy offers specialised training for businesses in:

• Climate action
• Sustainability
• Corporate social responsibility

You can also develop sustainability awareness and learn about best practices using the Climate Ready online learning platform. Or, you can register for a free 8-week online workshop about reducing energy waste, delivering cost savings, and protecting the environment.

If you want to further develop your knowledge of sustainability practices in the workplace, visit the Climate Ready Insights website by Skillnet Ireland.

Water Conservation for Business

Irish Water has an online information hub to help businesses conserve water. This includes videos, fact sheets and ‘how-to’ guides to help your business reduce water waste. The Water Conservation for Business hub also includes practical advice for specific sectors, including:

• Hospitality
• Agriculture
• Manufacturing
• Pharmaceutical

SEAI Energy Academy

The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) offers an e-learning service called Energy Academy to:

• Advise organisations how to meet energy efficiency goals
• Show how energy efficiency practices can help reduce energy waste and lower your carbon footprint
• Upskill staff on energy efficiency

SEAI Energy Show

The SEAI hosts an annual Energy Show, including free workshops, expert briefings, and best practice demonstrations. Businesses can learn how to save energy and costs, as well as new energy market developments.

You should handle and dispose of your company’s waste in line with waste management regulations and legislation.

Encourage employees to recycle paper, plastic, glass and tin in your workplace by downloading posters and ordering bin labels and checklists from MyWaste.ie.

Before you dispose of waste, check if it can be repaired. Find local repair professionals on repairmystuff.ie or contact your local authority for advice.

Waste electronic equipment

You can recycle waste from electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) for free.

Small electronic items, like household items

Bring small electronic items, such as computers, desktop printers and batteries (and other electrical items often found in a household) to your local civic amenity site. Here it will be collected for recycling instead of being sent to a landfill. Contact your local authority for more information, or find your nearest recycling point using the WEEE Ireland map.

You can also bring WEEE to a local electrical retailer. Retailers must take back your old electrical equipment, for free, on a one-for-one, like-for-like basis. This means the old product must be of the same type (or have the same purpose) as the new item purchased.

Larger electronic equipment

You can correctly dispose of larger electronic equipment, such as photocopiers, servers, cash registers or vending machines, by contacting your equipment supplier or a local licenced waste contractor.

Read more about recycling waste electrical and electronic equipment.

End-of-life company car or light commercial vehicle

If you have a company car or a light commercial vehicle (of less than 3.5 tonnes) that is due to be disposed of or scrapped, it is called an end-of-life vehicle (ELV).

You must dispose of an end-of-life vehicle using licensed authorised treatment facilities (ATFs, also called permitted scrapyards). This is because end of life vehicles contain hazardous materials that can damage the environment and pose a risk to public health if not disposed of safely. For example, vehicles contain lead acid batteries, lubricating oil, coolant, brake fluid, and catalytic convertors.

Read about how to dispose of an end-of-life vehicle.

Use the Government’s ‘Climate Toolkit’ website to:

• Check your company’s carbon footprint
• Get practical advice on how to reduce it
• Learn about sustainable, cost-efficient products and services

You can also use the Tool for Resource Efficiency on the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) website for a quick overview of your company’s resource efficiency relating to water, waste and energy, and get an Action Plan for Resource Efficiency.

The EPA's Carbon Footprint Calculator is free for small businesses.

Carbon footprint calculators take all aspects of your business into account, including:

• Heat consumption
• Energy consumption
• How employees get to work
• The number of company cars you have (and how they are fuelled)
• Volume of waste produced, and how it’s disposed of
• Product packaging
• How far products are shipped
• Your use of local suppliers
• The type of refrigeration, fire protection and air conditioning equipment you use

Read about Ireland’s CO2 emissions and energy consumption on the SEAI website.

Resources for specific sectors

Learn more about greenhouse gas emissions by industry on the EPA website.

The National Waste Prevention Programme, led by the Environmental Protection Agency, has resources to help ‘green your business’.

You can also read about ‘greening your office’ and resource efficiency in the retail sector on the EPA website.