Businesses that take steps to help the environment and save energy could recoup more than £6.4bn a year, the government has said.
A new campaign launched by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) today, ‘Saving money – it’s your business’, aims to illustrate how simple steps such as turning computers off or recycling can generate huge cost savings.
The campaign includes a new booklet Can you afford not to?, which provides best practice examples and explains how to seize market opportunities to use resources such as energy, raw materials and water, more effectively.
Environment secretary Hilary Benn said: “Businesses are facing challenging times, today more so than ever, so finding ways to save money makes a lot of sense.
“Sustainability is the key not only to the environment but to business success. Now is the time to shape our businesses of the future.”
Research out today by not-for-profit environmental company WRAP found that 47% of businesses recognise they could make savings of more than £100,000 through low- and no-cost efficiency measures, with 17% identifying more than £1m of potential savings.
