Organisations across Devon are keen to reduce their carbon output to help tackle this emergency and Devon is blessed with many enterprises already operating in the low carbon sector. The Sustainability Hub; Low Carbon Devon Project has been developed to support these enterprises and catalyse action around cutting carbon.
Supported by an investment from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF), the three year (£2.6m) programme, supports Devon-based enterprises (sole traders, micro-businesses, SMEs, social enterprises and CICs engaging in economic activity) to access research, and engage with University academics around the low-carbon agenda. This means research and innovation leading to the development of low carbon products, services or processes, adopting low carbon technology or reducing carbon use.
Through a series of knowledge exchange workshops and events, Devon enterprises will be able to collaborate with university Industrial Research Fellows focusing on four specialist research areas; Green / Living Walls, Power Electronics (Photovoltaic/LEDs), the Creative Industries and Energy Efficiency in Buildings (Occupant Behaviour).
Academics and enterprises can work together within the collaborative space of the Sustainability Hub which has been awarded SKA gold rating, the highest accolade for sustainable fit-out. The Hub functions as a living lab, showcasing the latest low carbon technology.
Low Carbon Devon will produce industry responsive solutions to the problems facing enterprises trying to move towards a sustainable low carbon economy, for example green wall installation, retrofit LED lighting systems, efficient building management and occupant behaviour studies.