The county administrative board has supported Värmland companies since the 80s and remains an important part of regional growth policy. The county administrative board has received an increased number of forms of support and now manages all support within the support area A and B where the capital requirement in connection with the investment is up to SEK 25 million. The county’s support areas are characterised by a decrease in employment, reduced population, low housing construction, high unemployment, high sickness rates, etc., although there are exceptions. The development is primarily responsible for a long-term structural transformation in the business sector. Transformation has taken place mainly in industry and agriculture, and forestry. The transformation was previously offset by an upturn in the public sector, but as this growth has stalled, the interest in private services, which means more and more for the overall economy, increases instead. Investments in the environment and climate also occur in other programmes. The County Administrative Board will, together with the Swedish Environmental Protection Agency, be commissioned to implement Local Climate Programmes over a three-year period. The efforts are aimed at companies and organisations and comprise SEK 600 million per year throughout the country. The County Administrative Board has no experience of working with projects with energy, climate and environmental focus within the company subsidy. This is therefore seen as an experimental project and to draw experience from such efforts. The aim of the project is to contribute to small and medium-sized companies investing in energy-efficient measures to develop climate-smart products and services. The purpose of regional business subsidies is to promote sustainable growth in support companies and thus sustainable growth in the region. The support fulfils an important function in areas where the market does not function satisfactorily or as some compensation for cost considerations in areas with more permanent disadvantages such as long distances. The overall goal is that more companies invest climate-smart and that these investments provide greater competitiveness in the short and long term. We believe that attention and awareness of gender equality and integration are factors that enhance the competitiveness of companies and, not least, the internal work environment. The goal is to reduce energy consumption by 25 % in sub-projects. Other environmental effects may be described qualitatively in individual projects and can probably not be measured in numbers. In the selection of applications, the County Administrative Board assesses: — The business nature of the company’s operations and how the investment affects the company’s development opportunities and, in particular, is able to achieve sustainable growth. — The applicant’s capacity to carry out the project and future operations. This scale also includes the owners’ previous experience and knowledge to conduct the business and their resources in order to be able to further develop the business in the future. — Place’s prerequisites to conduct current operations. — The market for the company’s products and services, are they growing or shrinking? — Where are the customers; local or regional. What requirements does it place on how products and services are conveyed and what requirements are placed on market efforts? What is the competitive situation with regard to the effects of support for other companies locally/regional? What do the company’s operations look like with regard to the work environment, social conditions, environmental aspects of the business, etc.? What are the employment conditions at the workplace? What effects of employment can be expected from the measure? What significance does the investment have for the company and for the rest of the business sector? Is the investment innovative or otherwise of great importance to society at large? — Does the company have the necessary permits for the business? How do other financiers see current investment? Is it possible to get full funding? — Are the necessary credits available to cope with liquidity during the project period? — And finally, the assessment of whether the County Administrative Board’s support is needed to carry out the operation within the timeframe?