Low Carbon Australia is working on a ground breaking agreement to finance Australian manufacturers and businesses to reduce their energy costs.
Low Carbon Australia has developed a leading edge funding relationship with the Commonwealth Bank of Australia Ltd.
Low Carbon Australia's CEO Meg McDonald said said the Commonwealth Bank agreement will help more Australian businesses to harness proven new technology to remain competitive.
"In an environment of rising energy prices and a high Australian dollar, it is essential that industry find ways to take immediate advantage of the available energy and operating cost savings from new equipment and position itself for the low carbon economy,”she said.
"Low Carbon Australia is working with the Commonwealth Bank to make access to capital easier for businesses that have previously found financing these kinds of projects a hurdle.
"By working with financiers, energy utilities and councils, we've been able to generate a new flow of funds for energy efficiency in the marketplace."
The Commonwealth Bank's executive general manager of corporate banking solutions, Kelly Bayer Rosmarin, said both organisations were now jointly funding projects that support energy efficiency upgrades for manufacturers and industry.
The first businesses to benefit from finance available under the new agreement are Radevski Coolstores and the Labelmakers Group.
To beat rising energy bills, family owned and operated business Radevski Coolstores, based at Shepparton East, Victoria, is undertaking a $1.15 million refrigeration upgrade for its cool rooms.
A major Goulburn Valley supplier of apples and pears to Coles supermarkets, Radevski expects to reduce its refrigeration energy bills and carbon emissions by 24 per cent, by upgrading to an ammonia based refrigeration system for its 16 cool stores.
Meanwhile, CBA and Low Carbon Australia are financing Australasia's leading supplier of innovative label solutions, the Labelmakers Group for the $5.3 million installation of three new high efficiency, productivity boosting printing presses.
The new energy efficient presses operate at twice the speed while allowing a broader range of higher-quality printed products to be manufactured.
They require half the energy to print the same number of labels as the old presses and their technology reduces set up and start up times to enable quicker job turnarounds.
Bayer Rosmarin said the bank will work with Low Carbon Australia on a project-by-project basis, to tailor finance for upgrade and installation of state of the art cost efficient, energy saving assets at scale.
McDonald said the early success of this relationship had clearly demonstrated that there was growing business interest in accessing finance developed with Low Carbon Australia to upgrade equipment to combat rising energy costs.
"Since 2010, we've contracted investments in excess of $80 million, generating a flow of new financing and markets, making available more than $270 million in new finance for energy efficiency in the market."
