Finance provider in programme
with the UK’s Carbon Trust to support investment in energy-saving
assets. Liz Bury reports.
Go deeper with GlobalData
Siemens Financial Services has agreed to partner with the
UK’s Carbon Trust to provide at least £550m (€636m) of finance for
green equipment to UK small business over three years.
No preferred suppliers have been
chosen and the programme has no link to Siemens products as
such.
SFS chief executive Europe and Asia
Jonathan Andrew said: “This is proper green financing.
“Lots of companies have been
unwrapping products under the banner of green financing, and
jumping on the bandwagon, but they don’t always understand the
assets.
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By GlobalData“With infrastructure assets the
cost is paid for by power savings. This programme covers assets
that will be generating savings.
“It is not constrained to leasing,
it is whatever fits the customer whether it is a loan, hire
purchase or lease.
“It is about the predictability of
payment.
“We see strong demand for products
that align payment with the savings a customer will make.”
Andrew added that £550m was not a
cap.
“If we can write £1bn, then great.
We see this as a huge opportunity,” he said.
The finance provided will cover
assets from a range of manufacturers.
“There are few areas of new asset
production that are not trying to build in energy efficient
processes,” Andrew said.
The Carbon Trust’s role in the
arrangement is to help businesses to assess equipment against
certain environmental and efficiency standards.
Andrew said: “Our portfolio across
Europe is two-thirds non-Siemens products. The business is run by
banking standards, all our business is written at arms length.
“This programme is focused on
helping SMEs to invest in and upgrade assets and infrastructure
where they can make a level of saving.
“Biomass heating technology is now
available to small and mid-size business. If you invest in the
technology you get payback quickly.”
One Carbon Trust-backed project to
install energy-saving lighting throughout a shopping centre
produced significant savings in power consumption.
Other projects have covered street lighting and traffic lights,
and energy-saving power turbines.
See also: Higher profits for Siemens
FS
