Reduce your energy consumption

British Gas Business today called on UK small businesses to take carbon emissions reduction seriously in order to reduce energy expenditure and boost profitability.

The campaign is in response to research showing that British industry, particularly in the small to medium-sized enterprise sector, doesn’t know how to reduce energy consumption.

British Gas Business commissioned Britain’s leading pollster Ipsos MORI to carry out the survey among 300 SMEs. Although 79 per cent of small businesses agreed that being energy efficient will save them money, 71 per cent believe there is little they can do to save energy.

This is in spite of the fact that energy accounts for nearly 10 per cent of the average SME’s annual overheads. Government figures reveal that £12 billion-worth of energy is wasted in the UK every year.

Well over half (59 per cent) of managers responsible for buying energy for their business confess they are more energy conscious at home than at work, according to the survey.

“Just over half recognised they needed help to make their business more energy efficient, but one third admitted that they lacked the relevant information,” says Adrian Harvey, commercial director of British Gas Business.

“Companies therefore know what the issue is, but too many see energy expenditure as a tax rather than something which can be controlled and reduced. If you’re a SME you’re less likely to have resources to dedicate to energy efficiency planning - but it can be done and we want to help. That’s why we are today launching our call to action.”

As a result of the findings, British Gas Business is calling on all UK businesses to bridge the energy efficiency gap between home and work by doing three things:

• Stop wasting energy. All businesses should have an energy efficiency policy.

• Look at consumption of energy and take control of costs.

• Listen to good advice and take reasonable steps to reduce your energy consumption.

British Gas Business has compiled a comprehensive Energy Efficiency booklet, which is available free from www.britishgasbusiness.co.uk