Hertfordshire’s top hotels are challenging local SMEs to come up with innovative solutions to help them reduce their energy consumption. The Hotel Low Carbon Challenge, launched this week by the Hertfordshire Low Carbon Innovation Network, is being run by building science centre BRE in partnership with the Green Triangle and Synoptic Technologies and is part-funded by the European Regional Development Fund. At the forefront of the challenge, BRE has brought together Hertfordshire based Champneys, independent Aubrey Park Hotel and a large international hotel chain, who are all actively looking at ways to reduce their energy consumption and carbon emissions. Jackie Sharp, Senior Sustainability Advisor at BRE said: “We are all becoming much more aware of the issues around high energy usage and the need to reduce our carbon emissions.  BRE is delighted to be supporting local SMEs with low carbon innovations, bringing them together with leading names in the hotel industry to reduce carbon emissions in the built environment”. SMEs who have technical or service based innovations that are either close to market or market ready, and which will reduce energy consumption by a considerable margin, will be interested in this initiative.  Innovative solutions could focus on sub-metering and monitoring to help target excessive or unnecessary energy usage; thermal improvements to the building and windows; reduction or re-use of energy in kitchens; heat recovery from waste water or improved heating or HVAC control systems which can be retro-fitted. A huge incentive to taking up this opportunity is that eligible enterprises will be provided with 12 hours of free innovation support from BRE to help grow their offer.  Those businesses whose ideas are judged to most closely match the needs of the hotels and to be technically viable will be invited to present their solutions at a pitch event with potential buyers. Herts-based innovators interested in taking part in the Hotel Low Carbon Challenge can register their energy saving innovations via the Synoptic registration portal. As a bonus, your details will be held on a green technologies database and, in the future, will be made available to other client organisations looking for low carbon and energy efficient solutions.