Active sustainability. How do you finance it?

The need is high. André also sees this in the number of recent applications to Energiefonds Groningen and Energiefonds Drenthe, where he has been involved for years as a financial specialist and project financier. 'In the province of Drenthe, the Energiefonds has, since its inception in 2011, financed over 880 projects, with a huge increase in the number of funding applications since the energy crisis. We see a similar development at the Energiefonds Groningen. Increasing sustainability has become a survival strategy for many companies. But not every company has enough resources of its own to do so, or can only get partial funding from a bank.'

Funds in Groningen, Friesland and Drenthe.

To bridge this gap, energy funds have been established from the provinces. 'All three northern provinces have funds where corporate sustainability investments can be financed,' André says. 'This is never 100% funding. Depending on the amount of the investment, we can co-finance between 50% and 75%. By the way, the funds are not only for entrepreneurs, but for everything registered with the Chamber of Commerce. So, for example, also for foundations or associations that want to become more sustainable.

In Drenthe people can turn to the Energiefonds Drenthe, in Groningen to the Fonds Nieuwe Doen and in Friesland to Fûns Skjinne Fryske Enerzjy (FSFE). 'In all three provinces, these are so-called revolving funds. This means that the repayments of previously borrowed amounts come back into the fund and we can use them to finance new applications. We have simple, mostly standard funding solutions, but custom funding up to a maximum of €2.5 million is also possible.'

Approachable and fast

Jumping through all kinds of bureaucratic hoops and waiting a long time for approval is not an issue. 'We are low-threshold in that respect and also fast,' says André. 'The application process is digital and for applications up to 50,000, in addition to a few standard items, all that is often required is the submission of an installation quotation. Then you receive a loan agreement for acceptance within a few working days. This type of application falls under light funding, so there is no need for an extensive review process beforehand.'

But what if you're not yet sure of the amount of the investment or funding needs? 'You can simply call or e-mail us. We can often make a good estimate of what we can do for you based on that. And on the websites of the three funds there is also extensive information about the conditions and what you need to meet to qualify for a loan.'

Friendly terms

In addition to the speed and approachability, André says the terms are also attractive to entrepreneurs. "You don't pay any handling fees or closing commissions or anything like that. You only pay the repayment and interest of the loan and that's it. And you can also repay penalty-free most of the time. This is also very nice for entrepreneurs at the time when they have funds left over. After all, you are then not faced with additional costs if you want to repay extra.'

André van Moock

Large requests

Large companies can also turn to the funds, André says. 'We also serve the upper end of the SME sector, for example. This involves much larger funding that is not always easy to obtain. For this we work together with other funding parties in the North, in addition to the regular banks. In this type of process you often work with stacked funding, together with other parties. We are also receiving more and more applications of this kind, and we are actively seeking cooperation in this.'

The first step

But what if you don't have a concrete sustainability plan yet? 'I also often speak to entrepreneurs who are in that early phase. They would like to do something, but don't yet know exactly what,' says André. 'In such a case, I always advise them to contact the advisory channels for businesses in the provinces. These are Ik Ben Drents Ondernemer, Groningen Werkt Slim, GroBusiness and Ynbusiness in Friesland. These parties can help you with subsidies, for example, but also with sustainability measures that are relevant and sensible for your company. You don't have to invest in solar panels right away if there are enough other ways to save energy first, for example. The smartest step is to discuss this thoroughly first. Together you can then come up with a concrete and relevant plan, which we can then help you with.