Making your business more sustainable

Businesses in the City of Whittlesea will soon be able to access a long-term, low interest loan, for projects that help them save money and improve their economic and environmental performance via an Environmental Upgrade Agreement.

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What is an Environmental Upgrade Agreement?

An Environmental Upgrade Agreement (EUA) lets you, as building owners, access financing to specifically fund environmental building upgrades. Achieved through a partnership with the Sustainable Australia Fund, an EUA allows you to access funds, with the repayments administered by Council. Financing options are available to help you access environmental upgrades including:

Solar panels
Energy efficient lighting
Improved heating and cooling (HVAC) equipment
Water efficiency and waste water management
Electric vehicle charging stations

Key features that make it different to traditional finance are:

Low interest, quarterly repayments made via a local council charge.
Up to 100% project finance, including hard and soft costs.
Loan terms can extend from 5 to 20 years to maximise business cashflow.
Loans are tied to the property and building, not the business owner, making them easily transferable if the building is sold.
Landlords can split repayments with tenants, with both parties benefiting from the upgrade.
No requirement for personal, business, or other forms of security to be provided.

Interested in a loan to help you with an environmental improvement?

Contact Council's Sustainability team by email at sustainability.planning@whittlesea.vic.gov.au or visit the Sustainable Australia Fund website for more information.

Expression of interest form

The City of Whittlesea has partnered with Better Building Finance to offer local businesses access to finance that will enable them to undertake upgrades to reduce energy and water use providing savings on operating costs.

Please complete this Expression of Interest Form and a Council officer will contact you from August 2022.

Please note that this is not the formal application for the program. If you would like more information on the program please email us at sustainability.planning@whittlesea.vic.gov.au.