Sharing knowledge and connecting expertise across the low carbon sector

How we can help your business

By collaborating with other departments across the University, and with other relevant external organisations, we can provide tailored technical and business support and training for your low-carbon business.

We help organisations access the business expertise, research and leadership skills that will help you grow and succeed in this emerging market. We can also help your business connect with other businesses across the sector to share cutting-edge knowledge and practice in low carbon business innovation.

Areas of expertise

Our academic team has a wealth of expertise to offer organisations developing low carbon products or services:

Low carbon business innovation

• innovation and entrepreneurial learning
• strategic marketing for low carbon SMEs
• internal and external marketing
• low carbon business start-up
• accountancy tools for low carbon SME business resilience

Low carbon supply chains

• expertise in creating efficient green supply chains
• managing business efficiency
• sustainability and business operations improvement

Change and civic leadership

We provide support for activities to promote low carbon innovation across businesses:

• expertise in the behavioural economics of carbon efficiency, such as the use and impact of behavioural ‘nudges’ on business performance and carbon reduction.
• expertise in the leadership of whole systems, such as green regional innovation systems, place based or sector wide change initiatives
• support to create strategy and build strategic capability for large scale and organisation-wide change initiatives
• evaluation expertise to help initiatives and businesses demonstrate the impact of their carbon efficiency work
• knowledge transfer and business networking.

Sharing knowledge

We take a lead role in facilitating knowledge exchange and collaboration between businesses that promote low carbon innovation.

We can help your business through:

• Business networking
• Knowledge transfer
• Entrepreneurial learning
• SME development
• Networked learning communities and action learning.

How does it work?

We will work with you to facilitate knowledge transfer workshops, business breakfasts or learning circles so you can share your knowledge, expertise, challenges and successes in low carbon with other companies.

We can also:

• arrange student placements or internships and/or business expertise to help grow your business
• collaborate with regional organisations in order to connect with SMEs
• undertake specific research to assess the business needs of local low carbon SMEs
• connect low carbon SMEs with other businesses, public sector and not for profit organisations through student projects and knowledge transfer workshops.

Current projects

We are working on a wide range of projects with businesses and not for profit organisations. Some examples of our work are:

Derby and Derbyshire Councils

We are working with the Councils to create a Low Carbon Economy ‘Roundtable’ to take forward proposals falling out of earlier research activity.

Nottingham and Nottingham Trent Universities

We are working together to provide a combined Universities response to the £240 million D2N2 regeneration fund consultation.

Carbon Trust

The Carbon Trust is working with us to incorporate low carbon themes into our curriculum, and is also working with us towards co-accreditation of a number of our modules.

Ellen MacArthur Foundation

We are working towards becoming one of the Foundation’s ‘network’ universities. This will involve incorporating specific content into our modules and identifying a specific project that provides tangible business benefits by addressing the theme of ‘circular economy’. This project will be focused on the ‘greening’ of a local supply chain.