The Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies

The Centre for Renewable Energy and Sustainable Technologies (CREST) is an exciting venture that has been set up to help small businesses in Northern Ireland, the border counties and Western Scotland to develop and adopt renewable energy and sustainable technologies. It is supported by the EU's INTERREG IVA Programme, managed by the Special European Union Programmes Board (SEUPB), with match funding provided by Department for Enterprise, Trade and Investment and Department of Jobs Enterprise and Innovation in Ireland. CREST has been set up to help small businesses take advantage of the opportunities afforded by the global drive towards greater sustainability. It provides expertise and a range of facilities to help entrepreneurs and SMEs who might otherwise not have the capacity to do so, to bring innovative sustainable ideas from concept to reality. Led by South West College, CREST operates across a network of educational institutions including Cavan Innovation and Technology Centre, Institute of Technology Sligo, and Dumfries & Galloway College in Scotland. These partners have a strong track record of engaging with businesses to support innovation in the field of sustainability. Collectively, they can draw upon significant academic resources and facilities to ensure that a high quality service is available to SMEs. The bigger picture is that CREST is helping to stimulate innovation and to improve competitiveness of the small business sector in the region. This in turn is safeguarding and creating jobs whilst contributing towards better stewardship of our natural environment.