MORE than £1 million in grants has been awarded to Solent companies over the past year in a bid to cut carbon emissions.

The funding has been supported through Future Solent, a joint project between business leaders, local authorities and green technology experts to support more than 80 jobs.

Details of the Green Growth Fund, as it is known, will be a key subject presented at the Future Solent annual conference in Portsmouth on Friday, November 7.

The all-day event comes exactly a year after the Department for Business Innovation and Skills awarded a funding package to stimulate investment in small businesses developing low carbon technologies, jobs and skills.

The award was announced by business secretary Vince Cable on a visit to Future Solent's 2013 conference.

Jimmy Chestnutt, Future Solent chairman, said: “This year's conference will showcase the various projects that the funding has been committed to and the jobs and skills being created. A positive and exciting low carbon story is emerging in our region which is indicative of what can be achieved with suitable support.”

“Our conference will offer a unique chance for Solent businesses, academics and the public sector to network and feedback to their own organisations on the green initiatives going on.”

Board members of Future Solent include representatives from Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, the universities of Southampton and Portsmouth, Solent Local Enterprise Partnership, and PUSH, the Partnership for Urban South Hampshire. Also involved are companies IBM, Bouygues UK and GEP Environmental.