- Donations of up to £6,000 and coaching sessions on offer for small businesses through TalkTalk’s Future Fibre Fund
- The sustainability initiative comes as TalkTalk continues to bring full fibre to homes and businesses across Greater Manchester
- Research shows that Full Fibre is 80% more energy efficient than legacy copper technologies
- Small businesses account for 44% of national non-household emissions
Salford-based TalkTalk is bringing local businesses an early Christmas gift this year in the form of a new green donation, the Future Fibre Fund for small businesses. Through the Future Fibre Fund, TalkTalk aims to support small businesses in Greater Manchester with a one-off donation of up to £6,000 to be used for sustainable initiatives. This might involve them purchasing energy monitoring technology, recycling facilities, working towards environmental certifications – like joining the SME Climate Hub, or contributing towards bigger investments such as solar panels.
Successful applicants will also benefit from a one-off coaching session with TalkTalk’s Head of Sustainability, Will Ennett, on what steps can be taken to help reduce their carbon emissions using their MEAD framework, which consists of four actionable steps for businesses.
As the only large-scale connectivity provider based in the North West, TalkTalk is passionate about helping the local community. The fund is open to small businesses based in Greater Manchester and applicants must submit their application forms by January 12th – see details below.
Small business carbon challenge
The new initiative follows recent findings that estimate SMEs are responsible for 44% of national non-household emissions. This insight demonstrates the need to engage small businesses will be crucial to meet the UK’s net zero targets.
Nine out of 10 of the businesses surveyed said they face barriers to taking climate action, with financial constraints found to be one of the most common barriers.
TalkTalk green efforts
TalkTalk has taken on several measures to become a more sustainable business. Following its launch of a companywide environmental policy, TalkTalk has so far been able to lower its operational carbon footprint by 80% over the past five years. It is also helping customers to reduce their lifetime carbon emissions by encouraging consumers and businesses to switch from standard broadband to full fibre – a more environmentally friendly technology.
Will Ennett, Head of Sustainability at TalkTalk, said: “We are delighted to open our Future Fibre Fund to small businesses in Greater Manchester to support their sustainability efforts. At TalkTalk we have been taking on several measures to become more sustainable and we hope this initiative will enable small businesses around our local area to do the same.”
How to apply
Small businesses across Greater Manchester can apply for the initiative by submitting a short application on TalkTalk’s website here www.talktalk.co.uk/futurefibrefund and have up to the 12th of January 2023 to apply.
Those interested in applying will be asked to answer a small number of questions about their business and how the donation would be used to improve its sustainability efforts. Successful applicants will be notified from the 6th of February 2023.
For more information about the Future Fibre Fund visit: www.talktalk.co.uk/futurefibrefund
