101 Ways UK Small Businesses Can Save Energy And Lower Their Costs

There are undoubtedly 101 ways UK small businesses can save energy and lower their costs. But just how significant would it be if SMEs increased their energy efficiency?

According to the Carbon Trust, UK SMEs account for 45 per cent of business energy usage and, says Harry Morrison, general manager of the Carbon Trust Standard Company, UK SMEs have the greatest potential for savings on energy: 20 per cent compared to eight per cent for larger organisations.

Business leaders: Germany greener than UK

British business leaders think of Germany as ahead of the UK in terms of green economic growth, according to a new study.  Of the 700 bosses questioned by the Carbon Trust, only one out of eight thought that the UK is ready to take advantage of the £3.2 trillion market for low carbon goods and services.

In fact, business leaders in the UK ranked age-old enemies Germany as the most likely country to take advantage of green initiatives, putting Britain on a level pegging with Japan, China and the US. Only a third of the respondents said they were investing in sustainable products and services, despite 92 per cent thinking their businesses could benefit from them.

The green economy, which is said to be worth a massive £112 billion in the UK alone, was thought to be benefitted most by solid strategies and strong leadership, according to those interviewed. A third of business leaders were however wary about the risks on investing in such ventures.

Only 31 per cent said they thought investing in sustainable technologies would increase their profits while 75 per cent said they would probably only gain themselves a better reputation by installing such methods.

Despite the perceived risks, however, many companies in the UK are already taking the initiative to invest in green services and goods. RLtec, for example, has developed an electricity saving device that allows appliances to respond much more quickly after being turned off for a long amount of time.

Sustainability tips to ensure a green business approach

• Understand your impact – what affect does your business have on the environment and society? Tailor sustainability plans around these aspects and use online tools to help. Business Link has some excellent guides for small businesses
• Think partnerships – team up with suppliers, customers, outsourcing partners etc to adopt a eco-friendly approach. Other organisations can be a great source of knowledge and resource. You could also switch to suppliers to support those that openly endorse sustainability
• Be passionate – whoever is leading the strategy should have passion and enthusiasm for the implementation. Staff won’t be motivated unless others within the organisation are. Utilise your internal communications and provide staff with easy access to top tips and advice
• Look for easy wins – examine where you can improve quickly to fit in with an environmental approach and provide an immediate return. Reducing paper by automating document processes is one example of this
• Eliminate unnecessary activities – can invoices be automated and handled electronically? Can that face-to-face meeting be replaced by a conference call?
• Make sure proposed improvements will deliver both economic and environmental benefits – quantifiable benefits are an essential requirement in any green strategy
• Printing, copying, storing, mailing and disposing of paper can exceed the initial price by as much as ten times so make sure simple practices such as printing double sided, using recycled paper and only printing when necessary are followed
• Search for local suppliers in your area – the more you can use suppliers who are local to your business, the less travelling they have to do, the less energy will be wasted

By John Elkington - Managing Director of Esker, Northern Europe

Read full article: http://mybusiness.co.uk/YcMa1s5oRI5jag.html

Small Enterprises go for Green

Green issues are beginning to take a hold in the UK manufacturing market. A survey by the Manufacturing Advisory Service (MAS) found many more companies are going for businesses involved in low carbon products. The swing follows a worldwide trend in environmental and green commerce.

Over 50% of the small and medium sized business questioned reported that they had adapted their business to the low carbon market. The survey also revealed that 56% were already investing in low carbon plant manufacturing procedures. Roger Parr, the National Network manager for MAS said these were encouraging times.

It shows that manufacturers have started to direct their attention to, the opportunities these markets can create for UK businesses.The worldwide low carbon products and services market is growing rapidly and had a value of  £3.2 trillion last year. The market is projected to grow 4% per annum over the next five years and in the UK alone there is a market value of £112 billion.

Read more: http://www.recycle.co.uk/news/2682000.html

Ten Tips for Finding Grants to Make Your Business Greener

Wading through the morass of information on green business grant programs can be challenging, particularly for small businesses that don’t have the expertise or staff to manage grant writing.

To ease the burden, our industry experts offered this advice on how to find the best programs for your needs and how to increase your odds of winning their approval.

1.    Call your utility company and ask about the grants and rebates they offer.

The variety of programs vary, but almost all utilities offer some incentives to offset the cost of energy reduction projects, says PG&E’s Katie Romans. “Larger customers may have a rep they deal with directly who will walk them through the process, while smaller customers may have to call the utility directly and ask for assistance.”

Utilities also offer energy audits to help customers identify areas for improvement, which can help focus your grant writing and get you on the utility company’s radar when future programs open up.

Read more: http://www.greenbiz.com/blog/2009/05/17/ten-tips-finding-grants-make-your-business-greener

Many small firms ‘aiming to improve environmental focus’

In order to improve their environmental commitments, many small firms are looking to focus on things like recycling, new figures suggest.

As many as 98 per cent of those polled in a recent survey published by Abbey and Alliance and Leicester Business Banking have recently aimed to take more eco-friendly steps.

Firms looking to opt for green commercial waste management services may be interested to note that 64 per cent of the businesses queried are said to have introduced a scheme to recycle their waste.

Abbey and Alliance and Leicester Business Banking’s Paula Ickinger commented that environmentally friendly measures can help businesses to save money in the long run.

Ms Ickinger, the organisations’ head of business banking marketing, noted: “It is particularly interesting that so many companies have actually made environmental considerations a higher priority since the economic downturn.”

The government’s environment secretary Hilary Benn has also recently called on UK firms to become more resource efficient.