The user-friendly, practical and simplified guide “Aid for environmental protection – Simplified guide for companies” provides an overview of existing support measures, the main granting criteria and the elements to be prepared to submit aid applications. “It also outlines the support that companies can expect from Luxinnovation in this field,” explains Avit Blanchy, Senior Advisor – Corporate R&D and Innovation Support at Luxinnovation and the main author of the guide.
Financial aid for environmental protection
The guide focuses on the financial support (subject to the amended law of 15 December 2017 on an aid scheme for environmental protection) likely to interest the greatest number of companies, namely:
- Aid for environmental studies aimed at:
- assessing the impact of the company’s activity on the environment and obtaining various recommendations that will reduce this impact in the more or less short term (Fit 4 Sustainability programme),
- obtaining targeted expertise (choice of technology, investment budget, quantification of the environmental impact, etc.) with a view to investing in environmental protection (art. 14 of the law),
- aid for investment in technologies or installations that make it possible to exceed the applicable environmental standards (art. 4 of the law),
- investment aid for energy efficiency measures (art. 6 of the law),
- investment aid for the production of renewable energies (art. 9 of the law).
Support to reduce additional costs
“The Ministry of the Economy provides support measures available to all Luxembourg companies, regardless of their size, to reduce the additional costs of their investments in environmental protection,” underlines Mr Blanchy.
The Ministry of the Economy provides support measures available to all Luxembourg companies, regardless of their size.
In order to make the information as concrete as possible, the guide details the various environmental protection investment aids using practical cases and examples with figures. It is available in French, English and German.
Support from Luxinnovation
Even if a company is very motivated to better protect the environment, it is not always easy to find the right starting point. Luxinnovation offers support to facilitate the launch.
“The implementation of environmental investment projects can sometimes be complex and outside companies’ area of expertise, but they can rely on external expertise subsidised through the Fit 4 Sustainability programme to help them make good choices,” explains Avit Blanchy. “This programme specifically targets companies that want to invest to reduce their environmental impact but who do not know with which part of their activities to start, or what type of environmental impact they should reduce through which investment and how much will it cost them.”
Companies can rely on external expertise subsidised through the Fit 4 Sustainability programme to help them make good choices.
Once the external expert has helped a company determine what it needs to do, it can count on the advice of Luxinnovation to access the corresponding aid. “Companies that would like to apply for aid for already identified and costed environmental investment projects that are not yet started are also invited to contact us via aides@luxinnovation.lu to access our support.”
Photo: © Luxinnovation/Marion Dessard