Enigin Update - UK Businesses Report: Energy Saving Good, but could do Better
MORE UK businesses are reported to be taking action to save energy, according to the latest survey from by the Forum of Private Business (FPB).
41 percent of UK firms have made changes in business processes to make them more energy efficient, with a further 28 percent reporting that they have reduced energy use, according to FPB’s latest environmental panel survey. 28 per cent of businesses also reveal that they have invested in energy efficient equipment to further reduce the cost of energy bills.
Phil Orford, chief executive of the FPB, "Small businesses see the benefits of green practices and technologies to the environment and, given rising energy costs, to their bottom lines."
Despite the positive message in this report there are still challenges for many UK firms, particularly as we reported yesterday that over half of the
UKs smaller companies are missing out on energy and hence cost savings.
The report revealed that 75 percent of firms report that being energy efficient is not impossible during the current financial situation, but over half revealed that green taxes hinder their ability to invest in energy saving.
The FPB is calling on the UK government to:
* Think small first when producing environmental policies affecting businesses: including ensuring policies and regulations are simple, proportional and clear to give business owners the greatest opportunity to understand and, where appropriate, implement government policy.
* Incentivise the green agenda: rather than simply introducing taxes to persuade business owners that the green agenda is more than a revenue raising exercise with little in return, such as by providing environmental support structures that are more readily accessible to small businesses.
* Clarify the business case for energy efficient technology and provide better information on the choices available: while small firms see the importance of metering and measuring energy use, there are practical difficulties relating to the installation and operation of meters and green technologies.
* Support businesses that adopt green measures early: including rewards for large-scale property improvements such as tax relief and soft loans – giving these businesses the confidence to make further investments in low carbon infrastructures. The Green Investment Bank should be able to support micro-generation schemes to improve the nation's energy security.
* Support a local agenda: with better support for and promotion of local schemes, closer links between small firms and the communities in which they operate including allowing retailers to use Energy Performance Certification to show off their green credentials and creating a local green agenda to ensure that regenerating high streets is done in a sustainable manner, reducing the barriers put in the way of businesses by planning departments.
Enigin Distributors in the UK, and globally, are helping many businesses with a range of energy saving solutions and technology from Enigin to save substantially on their energy costs, all with a rapid ROI.
Picture by Canary Wharf, Tower Hamlets, London by Jim Linwood reproduced under Creative Commons license.
