The London Waste and Recycling Board (LWARB) has secured £900,000 of funding from the Mayor of London’s Green New Deal, to deliver support to London-based small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) that are helping to make London a low-carbon circular city.
In these difficult times for many businesses, the Mayor of London has demonstrated his commitment to a green recovery by allocating a proportion of the Green New Deal funds to London’s circular business ecosystem. Eligible businesses will benefit in a number of ways:
- Small grants will be made available to support the efforts of circular SMEs to deliver a green recovery;
- LWARB’s team of experts will provide free help and advice to help circular businesses pivot and innovate during the pandemic; and
- A virtual match-making platform and directory of circular economy products and services will be created to provide better access for Londoners to the capital’s thriving green sector.
Support will be awarded against a wide range of criteria, both to small businesses with growth potential already operating a circular business model and to those wishing to pivot to new circular economy business operations. SMEs can submit expressions of interest here.
The funding will aim to safeguard around 300 jobs and create up to 50 new ones by providing grants and support to 50 businesses. The pandemic has triggered a crisis for many businesses, and 59% of circular businesses surveyed by the Advance London programme between April and June this year reported that they were not able to access any COVID-19 central government funding, as many early stage businesses do not qualify for access to those schemes.
This is exciting news as the funding will help London’s thriving low carbon circular sector to keep innovating.
Wayne Hubbard, CEO of LWARB, says: “This is exciting news as the funding will help London’s thriving low carbon circular sector to keep innovating. Here at LWARB we have an expert business support team, perfectly placed to deliver tailored support to accelerate the circular economy in the capital, and we’re delighted that the Mayor has recognised this. It’s more proof if it was needed that London is one of the best places in the world to be a ‘green’ business.”
“The Advance London programme’s current portfolio of businesses has a high proportion of female-owned or co-owned businesses with 48% of those in African, Asian, Caribbean, Black British and other ownership.
“A further 22% of businesses supported by the programme are in the five London boroughs with the highest deprivation levels. The funding aims to incentivise the wider London business community to pilot and launch circular economy products and operating models, contributing to the green recovery and London becoming a leading low-carbon circular city.