Does going green have to cost the earth?
Businesses are being urged to take green issues more seriously but does working in a way that doesn't literally cost the earth mean a bigger financial headache for firms? Not necessarily, says Louise Druce.
Just in case it passed you by, April 22 was Earth Day, another event to try to encourage us all to save the planet by reducing our carbon footprint. Paul McCartney's suggestion of learning to love rather than scoff animals probably won't do a lot for your business but there are a few subtle green measures you can take that will still help you bring home the bacon – albeit meat free.
- 72% waiting for growth before action
- 67% said it failed to have an impact
- 58% said cost was the biggest hurdle
- 7% said the debate had negative impact
Not everyone agrees going green is a good thing for the books. Entrepreneur think-tank the Tenon Forum claims it cost entrepreneurs £3.1 billion in the last year with negligible impact. In fact, its poll of SMEs revealed over a quarter of owner-managers believe the cost of adopting these schemes outweighs the benefits to business.
The so-called 'green budget', in particular, has caused some consternation, seen as an attempt to win votes rather than address the real issues. Almost half of the SMEs polled believe the UK tax regime should be used to encourage green practices among business, with the revenue ring-fenced to fund environmental initiatives.
"Thousands of pounds worth of green taxes are stretching SMEs to their limit," says Andrew Jupp, Tenon's national head of tax. "With the government advocating green business practices so vehemently, it's crucial they find ways of making this easier and suggest viable ways to do so."
The majority of firms do recognise, however, that they need to be seen to be doing the right thing if they want to encourage spend from the environmentally conscious. Research from vehicle hire firm Enterprise Rent-A-Car, showed consumers were often willing to pay more for a service if it's green. It also argues that businesses shouldn't automatically associate going green with a black hole in the pocket.
"Too many SMEs equate environmentally-friendly options with expensive options – that's simply not the case," says Rob Ingram, UK business development manager at Enterprise Rent-A-Car. "In fact, in many instances, the environmental option can deliver significant cost savings.
"There is an inherent short-sightedness when it comes to the environment and too many small businesses are failing to take simple steps that can make a real difference to their bottom line and the wider community."
Flip the switch
So what are these 'simple steps'? For starters, recycling is much easier now and cost effective. How many times do you print out information, such as emails, only for it to end up in the bin an hour later? According to Friends of the Earth, over six million tonnes of paper and board is used once only in the UK.
The simple answer is not to keep printing everything out but, if you have to, try to print using the double-sided option and use any discarded sheets as scrap for telephone messages etc. You can get a pack of 100 desktop recycling trays for under £3 these days, not bad when you consider that waste typically costs companies 4.5% of their turnover, according to Envirowise.
- Turn off lights that aren't being used
- Don't print out unnecessary emails or documents
- Print/photocopy on double-sides to reduce paper use
- Recycle paper, old computers and other waste
- Work virtually to cut down transport use
- Don't leave computers on stand-by
- Switch off unused heaters and fans
Turning things off when they're not in use is another obvious but effective way to cut down on energy bills. Just one PC left on all day will cost a company about £37 a year, says the Carbon Trust. Switch it off at night and weekends and the cost is nearer a tenner, which roughly equates to saving enough energy to make 34,900 cups of coffee. If you don't leave printers, faxes and photocopiers on stand-by at the end of the working day, even more savings can be made.
And don't forget to turn out the lights. The International Energy Agency estimates that around 19% of all electricity is being used for lighting, yet only 5% of the humble household lightbulb is actually used for light. Energy-saving lightbulbs are one option but for bigger offices, it might be worth looking at LED options.
Heating and air conditioning is another energy and, conversely, cost leech. Just by turning the thermostat down by a degree, you could reduce your bills by 10%. There is another advantage for sectors such as retail. As the Carbon Trust points out, if it's cold outside and customers are wrapped up, they hardly want to step into temperatures akin to the Sahara just so staff can walk around in T-shirts. On the other hand, if they're wearing shorts in summer, they'll be equally put off by an icy reception. It recommends the temperature should be around 19°C to maximise comfort.
If you're an entrepreneur constantly on the go, your car is partially responsible for the 42 tons of carbon dioxide researchers YouGov and WebEx estimate is being released by vehicles into the atmosphere – that's the equivalent weight of seven elephants. If you can't bear taking public transport, you might want to look at options such as video conferencing or free VoIP services such as Skype to conduct business meetings. Climate change expert Jonathan Shapely, CEO of the CarbonNeutral Company, reckons ditching just one trip from London to Manchester in favour of a virtual meeting could substitute the release of around 56kg of carbon dioxide, as well as cut down on your fuel bills.
Small measures, huge benefits
There is no doubt the bigger firms have seen the most benefits from going green through measures that would be costly for small firms in the short-term. Boots, for example, has a raft of measures in place to reduce its carbon footprint. Among these are the use of dual-fuel fleet vehicles and coming up with more efficient ways to transport its goods that over the last year have reduced the number of road kilometres driven by 8.5 billion, reduced carbon emission by 5% and led to fuel costs of around £1.4 million. The company has also addressed the amount and type of packaging its uses for its products and introduced better stock management to cut down on deliveries.
However, Richard Ellis, the company's head of corporate social responsibility, points out that the little gestures are just as important. At its head offices in Nottingham, you won’t find an employee with a wastepaper bin. Instead, they are encouraged to segregate their waste into recycling hubs that have been placed at strategic points around the office, such as by the printer or the tea-making facilities.
Richard Ellis, Boots
"We're only making a small impact on waste recycling but the message it sends to people is important," says Ellis. "Rather than ramming [environmental issues] down everybody's throats, we try to get them to do it for themselves. This is more successful and has more of an impact on the issues.
"These little schemes are not going to change the world but it's the little things that encourage people to adopt different behaviours that make the difference. And if you say carbon equals cost, reducing the carbon footprint means you are becoming more efficient."
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BusinessZONE - 25-Apr-2008
Categories: Money matters
Story read: 3283
Number of comments: 1
It may cost to go green however....
Roger Brown, 08 September 2008 @ 17:05 PM
Money can be saved by reducing electricity bills. I was recommended by a friend a site, http://www.sust-it.net/.
It ranks products by energy consumption. So I checked out items like projectors and PCs. I find out I was wasting money fueling energy hungry products. So I switched to some of the most energy efficient products and the electricity bill was rapidly reduced.
