£1m worth of net zero funding for South of Scotland businesses and organisations
South of Scotland Enterprise’s Net Zero Accelerator Fund is designed to help accelerate the Just Transition to Net Zero, through supporting innovative solutions and technologies brought forward by South of Scotland businesses and organisations.
Amongst those supported included stone masons and merchants Hutton Stone, based near Swinton in the Scottish Borders, who were visited by the First Minister Humza Yousaf in February.
The company will receive £300,000 to support the purchase of production equipment that will enable the business to offer a new product which will help increase its productivity by up to 75%.
The new production equipment will provide an estimated carbon emission saving of over 50% compared with conventional production and reduce the amount of fuel consumed from drilling stone blocks by up to 30%, helping to futureproof the company.
Marcus Paine, Managing Director of Hutton Stone, added: “We are incredibly grateful to both South of Scotland Enterprise, Zero Waste Scotland, Looper and Scottish Government for the support they have afforded us.
“Scotland is synonymous with its magnificent natural stone heritage and our mission as the current custodians of its industry is to ensure its Just Transition to Net Zero, while producing innovative new products with a fraction of the carbon cost of currently available alternatives.
“The support provided to us by the Net Zero Accelerator Fund will do exactly that and I am enormously proud to be part of a Scottish Borders company leading the progression of this across the UK.”
Professor Russel Griggs, Chair of SOSE, said: “The Net Zero Accelerator Fund is an example of SOSE putting words into action, supporting a range of businesses and organisations to improve productivity, advance innovation and accelerate Net Zero solutions, as we committed to do in our Five Year Plan.”
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