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More green cash for modal shift

[ April 23, 2014   //   ]

More money is available under the Low Carbon Freight Dividend for small and medium sized firms in the East of England seeking to shift containers from road to rail or water. Companies can now claim up to £20,025 each in financial support.

The Low Carbon Freight Dividend project was launched by the Haven Gateway Partnership in 2012, with European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) providing nearly £3 million towards the original £7.5 million project.

Last year, the project was extended to include coastal shipping and some shortsea routes as well as rail. This extension was supported by a further £370,000 of funding from the ERDF – which, with match funding, made the Low Carbon Freight Dividend project worth just over £8.4 million.

Firms can claim a Low Carbon Freight Dividend of up to 30% per container, capped at £75 per container, for using rail or water instead of road transport. The original limit was set at support for a maximum 90 containers per company but, following a review of the project the maximum grant has been increased from £6,750 per company to up to £20,000, said project manager Lisa Brazier.

She added: “The Low Carbon Freight Dividend was set up to encourage and support long-term behavioural change. This increase means that we can support companies for longer, giving them more ‘breathing space’ in which they can set up the processes, train staff and consider different supply chain solutions that can lead to permanent change and long-term modal shift.”

The three-year project aims to take about 33,000 containers off the roads, removing over 13 million kg of carbon dioxide from the logistics supply chain.

Practical support is also available, such as Low Carbon Freight Workshops, focusing on freight optimisation and low carbon marketingThere is also a web-based Containerised Cargo Carbon Calculator, enabling companies to compare and contrast cargo movement methods and the carbon emissions for each method, or combination of methods.

For more details contact Lisa Brazierat lisa.brazier@haven-gateway.org or visit www.lcfd.co.uk

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