Bread on the Tyne Ltd
Energy Efficiency improvements unlock a boost in productivity.
Bread on the Tyne Ltd received an energy audit and decarbonisation plan to help identify and quantify energy savings opportunities. The audit identified that they could save £1,275 annually on their energy bills and achieve 1.9 tonnes in annual carbon savings.
We spoke to owner Tony Waldron to hear more about the impact this audit and grant support has made on the business:
“We moved into a new premises in May 2024, which was double the size of our previous one. We mainly supply my partner’s business, which was growing, so we needed a bigger place.
“The new building is quite old and came with an old gas boiler and fluorescent lights, which were not the most energy efficient. The key things for a bakery are suitable refrigeration and heat. Our new building really needed a new boiler, and we wanted to invest in more refrigeration space using a cold room rather than running several individual refrigerators.
“We had an energy audit and explained what we wanted to spend the grant on. We were presented with improvements to the new boiler, lighting, and cold room. The only suggestion we did not take up was the solar panels. This is because we don’t own the building, so the payback on the investment in these would be greater than the 9-year lease we currently have.
“We asked for advice from the consultant that came to see us to make sure we were making the correct decisions for our businesses in terms of cost savings and carbon reduction. It was good to get an outside expert’s opinion to validate the measures we thought we wanted to bring in.
“We were awarded the grant to make improvements we wanted with 45% match funding from the grant to our 55%.
“We are a typical small business and need to continually invest to grow. Access to this grant has allowed us to accelerate our investment and unlocked the opportunity for us to get greater refrigeration space at a lower cost while also reducing our carbon footprint.
“If it wasn’t for access to this grant, we would have needed to wait at least 12 months to make these positive changes.
Discussing the key benefits to the business, Tony said: “A key benefit has been the speed of getting what we needed and the validation from experts of what we wanted to do as the right move for the business.
“It has given us the ability to unlock access new equipment and despite energy costs going up we have found that our electricity bill is actually slightly lower meaning that we are now running at a lower cost per unit but producing more in a new bigger building.
“This investment has also allowed us to safeguard 9 jobs and from our employee’s perspective it is good for them to see us investing and making positive decisions be to ensure the longevity of their job. It gives them confidence in the business and future job security.
Talking about the application process Tony said: “The entire process of applying was very refreshing. The slickness of the process from start to finish and the governance was spot on. The process runs so smoothly.
I was also pleasantly surprised that even as a small business we were still able to get grant money. I have always thought it was for bigger businesses and it would be a long-drawn-out process but it was very smooth and the time from application to grant was really swift.
His advice to any businesses looking to apply would be:
“First of all have a strategy where you know what you want from the grant. Understand the improvements you want to make and how these fit with the business need. It makes it a really simple application process.
My advice would be give it a go – don’t assume it will be long difficult process. It was refreshingly simple and it is not just for big business, we were treated the same as any other applicant would be and just like us it could unlock significant improvements to your business.
BEST can provide a range of fully funded energy efficiency support including free energy audits for businesses and a grant scheme designed to help cover the costs of improvements. Helping businesses to reduce running costs and help reduce the impact of operations on the environment.
The BEST energy efficiency project is funded by the UK Government through the UK Shared Prosperity Fund, with the North of Tyne Combined Authority and Gateshead Council as the lead authorities. BEST aims to reduce energy use and costs in small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) and Voluntary, Community and Social Enterprises (VCSEs) in Newcastle, North Tyneside, Northumberland and Gateshead.
