Business Decarbonization in Ukraine
At the invitation of the Industrial Ecology and Sustainable Development Committee of the European Business Association, Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency Hanna Zamazieieva took part in the roundtable “Business Decarbonization in Ukraine.”
During the event, Hanna Zamazieieva emphasized that Ukrainian industrial enterprises are currently operating under extremely difficult conditions. Constant security risks, destroyed or damaged infrastructure, disrupted logistics chains, and limited access to financing significantly complicate doing business. Together with Svetlana Mykhailovska, Deputy Director for Advocacy of EBA member companies, and business representatives, participants discussed key challenges as well as existing opportunities that Ukrainian companies can already use today.
To provide businesses with an effective “green” financing mechanism under any circumstances, the Decarbonization Fund of Ukraine was established. For over a year, the Fund has been implementing financial instruments that enable industrial enterprises to modernize outdated equipment, introduce energy-efficient solutions, reduce CO₂ emissions, and lower energy consumption.
Importantly, cooperation between businesses and the Fund is significantly simpler than with the traditional banking sector. In particular, the Fund offers simplified creditworthiness assessment conditions, a more flexible approach to collateral, transparent and clear financing procedures, and minimal bureaucratic requirements and documentation.
In practice, there are no strict restrictions on obtaining financing if a project meets two basic criteria:
— the energy efficiency criterion or the replacement of grid energy consumption;
— the decarbonization criterion, i.e., CO₂ emissions reduction.
Currently, credit and leasing instruments are available for industrial enterprises.
For the implementation of a single measure, an enterprise may receive up to UAH 90 million in state financial support. At the same time, one company or group of companies may implement several measures, with total financing not exceeding UAH 150 million. The Fund’s resources can serve as a стартова investment that businesses complement with their own funds, achieving significantly greater economic and environmental impact from project implementation.
Separately, the Head of the State Agency on Energy Efficiency reminded participants of the need to conduct an energy audit, which, in accordance with legislation, is mandatory for business entities with an average annual energy consumption of 100,000 MWh or more.
“Thanks to an energy audit, an enterprise can assess its own energy consumption, determine energy-saving potential, and receive recommendations on implementing necessary measures. Having the audit results, a company can either implement the recommendations independently or use the audit findings to obtain state support in the form of financing from the Decarbonization Fund of Ukraine,” Hanna Zamazieieva noted.
The State Agency on Energy Efficiency thanked all participants for their active engagement, questions, and substantive discussion. Following the meeting, the parties agreed that the European Business Association will consolidate business requests and serve as an important platform for further dialogue between the business community, the State Agency on Energy Efficiency and Energy Saving of Ukraine, and the Decarbonization Fund of Ukraine.
