Textile firm saves £18,000 and over 30 tonnes of carbon a year with Green Economy support

Tameside-based textile manufacturer Tibard has been working with Green Economy and the wider Growth Company for several years, receiving support including resource efficiency auditing and assistance with carbon footprinting.

Tibard were looking to invest in solar technologies to reduce their reliance on grid energy and were also seeking to replace an old embroidery machine. They reached out to Green Economy to help them explore funding options, and the Made Smarter grant was identified as a potential funding source.

Made Smarter grant application

Tibard worked with Joe Ledsham, Sustainability Consultant, to put together the best possible application for the grant. Working together, they successfully secured £50,000 of funding for their solar and machinery investments.

Their new embroidery machine and implementing solar PV has had a significant impact on the business, increasing production capacity by 25% as well as providing £18,000 annual cost savings and reducing their carbon emissions by over 30 tCO2e saved each year – a vital step in satisfying their customers and supply chain.

The upgrade is also projected to create four new jobs at Tibard, as well as upskilling three existing roles – proving that investing in sustainable technologies can result in cascading benefits beyond energy cost savings.