Even more businesses across the county will have the opportunity to gather advice on how to cut waste and save money, thanks to a £420,000 investment secured by the University of Lincoln and Lincolnshire County Council.

The funding has been awarded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), allowing SUSTAIN Lincolnshire to continue supporting small businesses across the county for at least another 18 months.

The project, which will help Lincolnshire businesses reduce running costs and carbon footprints by eliminating waste from products, processes or services, aims to enable companies to become more competitive and resource-efficient, while reducing their impact on the environment.

Phase 2 of SUSTAIN Lincolnshire will be officially launched at the Business Live event at the Epic Centre, Lincolnshire Showground, on Wednesday, 16^th October.

This second phase will build on the success of the first by providing resource-efficient business support and creating a climate for collaboration within the county.

Professor Val Braybrooks MBE, Dean of the University of Lincoln’s National Centre for Food Manufacturing, said: “SUSTAIN has provided many small businesses the opportunity to work with the University to excel through waste reduction. As a result, we have seen some outstanding examples of how innovation, technology take-up and collaboration can transform businesses and provide a platform for sustainable business practice and growth.

“Several businesses advanced their innovation agenda with the support of the project and have successfully been awarded grants from funding councils such as the Technology Strategy Board. We are delighted that we now have the opportunity to help more businesses, in addition to further enhance Lincolnshire’s credentials as a pioneer of collaborative working in supporting waste reduction.”

SUSTAIN Lincolnshire was established in 2010 to help businesses become more competitive by improving their resource efficiency and carbon footprints, and in turn, make them more sustainable and profitable.

Free tailored advice and consultancy, information sessions, training, access to expertise at the University of Lincoln and collaboration with academics and other businesses are just some of the services SUSTAIN Lincolnshire will provide during Phase 2 of the programme.

Councillor Colin Davie, Executive Member for Economic Development at Lincolnshire County Council, said: “Over the last few years, we’ve helped local businesses save hundreds of thousands of pounds. And thanks to this additional funding, that good work will continue. Our team will support companies in finding new ways of doing things, introducing them to the latest technology to make their business run more efficiently. The ultimate aim is to help these firms grow, which will have knock-on benefits for the wider economy as well.”

For more information about SUSTAIN Lincolnshire go to www.sustainlincolnshire.com, phone 01522 550640 or follow @SUSTAINLincs on Twitter.