A Midsomer Norton firm that supplies specialist “green walls” – where plants are grown up or cascaded down the side of buildings – has been awarded a grant so their HQ can go more environmentally friendly too.
Metro Mayor Dan Norris who leads the West of England Combined Authority, visited MMA Architectural Systems to see how the local firm is installing brand new double glazing and more energy efficient doors. The £4,000 investment from the West of England Combined Authority will mean the local company will reduce their carbon emissions by 1 tonne.
Owner and Director, Nikki Errington, showed the Mayor their products, and explained how the company is winning prestigious contracts including recently supplying stainless mesh infill to the balustrades in the new Victoria and Albert Museum in Stratford and green walls to One Hyde Park, in London.
Metro Mayor Dan Norris said: “Every little helps in our ambitious commitment to meet net-zero by 2030 so I’m pleased to learn about how this local firm is greening their building. I’m also fascinated by green walls and it is great to hear more about them. I’d like to see more green walls and roofs across the West of England helping improve air quality and helping making our towns and cities more beautiful.”
Nikki added: “The grant that we received has allowed us to replace old single glazed windows and a front door that was more like a sieve.
“Since the installation, the office team have found it a much more comfortable place to work with no draughts and it is easier to keep the office at a constant temperature. In addition to this, the noise level from outside has dropped. Whilst we have only had the windows and doors installed for about seven weeks, I can see that in just one month we had a 25% saving on our electricity bill compared to the same month in previous years.”
Green Business Grants are funded by the West of England Recovery Fund and the European Regional Development Fund. Further opportunities to apply for Green Business Grants will be available later in the year. In the meantime businesses can receive a free carbon survey to help them understand their energy use and greenhouse gas emissions and find out about low carbon solutions.
