A HAMPSHIRE wide charity is encouraging businesses to make an envirnomental difference by keeping goods in use for longer.
Action Hampshire has partnered up with the Recycled Assets Company (TRACOuk) to support the company’s new sustainable future fund (SFF).
The fund is designed to support independent businesses who can limit waste within business by contributing to a circular economy, which involves reusing, recycling and repairing products to keep using for as long as possible.
The Portsmouth-based environmental service chose Action Hampshire as their partner to help manage and support the fund. TRACOuk will be donating 25 per cent of its annual profit to the sustainability fund.
The funding is aimed at artisans such as furniture makers and local craftspeople who can re-use and repurpose furnishings and products and contribute to the carbon reducing economy. SSF carries the strapline of ‘saving the earth- one piece of furniture at a time’, encouraging businesses to find new homes for unwanted furniture, office equipment and other goods.
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Nikki Prentice-Jones, head of enterprise and head of the school for social entrepreneurs at Action Hampshire, said: “Action Hampshire is delighted to be working in partnership with TRACOuk, a Portsmouth-based furniture and equipment clearance and storage company, to help reduce the amount of waste going to landfill. Jason Bentley, managing director of TRACOuk is a fellow of the School for Social Entrepreneurs, Hampshire which Action Hampshire has been running for the past 12 years.”
“The Sustainable Future Fund has been setup to support the circular economy movement. Keeping goods in use for longer or ‘product life extension’ is one of 5 circular business models and is a vital element in preventing precious raw material from being needlessly extracted and plundered.”
The Hampshire charity, which aims to support local communities, is now calling out to businesses to join the sustainable cause. Nikki continued: “Applications are invited which help to solve the serious problem of waste that is partly killing the planet. It means we want any solution to be realistic and sustainable so we can start to fight back and make a difference to climate change. We believe the best way to do that is wrap your solution into a business which generates surplus resource. The greater the surplus, the greater the impact on people and planet.
“We are keen to hear from enterprises who feel they meet the funding criteria. Likewise, we are also keen to hear from businesses who would like to donate to the fund to make an even bigger difference to the amount of funding available to make an even greater impact on solving the issue of waste.”
The new business venture seeks to fulfil four outcomes:
Since the SSF began, grants have been awarded to a nursery school in Portsmouth to develop a community garden, upcycling waste makeup into unique, zero-waste watercolour paints in Portsmouth and an EcoSwap in Bognor Regis.
Click through the gallery at the top of the page to see what projects the fund has supported.
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The next round of applications for the SSF will open in early 2023, awarding grants up to £5000 from a £20,000 total. To be eligible, companies must meet a series of criteria such as being Hampshire or West Sussex based, a turnover of less than £300,000 a year, has a business bank account and company website and is an ethical and sustainable business.
For more information on applying contact Kevin Sawers at Kevin.Sawers@actionhampshire.org, or call 01962 857358.
For more go to recycledassets.co.uk/sff/.
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