Your business can only be left behind, and in time it may look distinctly out of date, as forward-looking business people do accept difficult challenges and evolve. The dinosaurs were also unable to evolve and became extinct because of climate change. So, when are you planning to take action, next week, next month, next year?

The first issues for you to tackle are the basics – energy, water and waste. So if you haven’t switched to green electricity yet, then clearly your light bulb hasn’t gone off.

The answer is blowing in the wind…

“Using existing cables and meters, Ecotricity can supply any home or business in mainland UK. It also guarantees to match the standard price of every regional supplier in the UK so switching to green energy needn't cost more. Something Ecotricity calls 'green for the price of brown'.”

Ecotricity was the first 'green' electricity company in the world. It pioneered the concept of making green electricity available to homes and businesses, back in 1995 when climate change was a little known concept. Ecotricity will sell you green electricity for the price of your existing electricity. So what are you waiting for now?

Web: www.ecotricity.co.uk

Tel: 08000 326 100

Energy Saving

What will your staff say when an important customer calls, and asks what green initiatives your company has begun? Will they be caught short? Cat got their tongue?

If you combine green electricity with an energy saving drive, you could cut your bills by a fifth or more, and educate and inspire your staff into the bargain.

As your company’s business leader, you need to lead by example, but it’s crucial to involve your staff and make it a team effort. Ask your employees where they think energy is being wasted, and encourage them to think about how they can all use less. That could reduce your overall energy use by 10%. And the best bit is, it won’t cost you a penny.

On average offices waste £6,000 each year by leaving equipment on over weekends and bank holidays. Just getting your employees to turn off their monitors when they go home can make a big difference. But unless you know what you’re paying, you won’t know what impact the changes make. Keep track of your bills, and how they change when you introduce your energy-saving program. Share this information with staff to keep them motivated and on track.

The Carbon Trust has this all worked out for you already. You can download its ‘Assessing the energy use in your building fact sheet’ and its ‘free Starter Pack’ that will show you what to do. This includes an Energy Saving Fact Sheet, with specific energy saving tips relevant to your business and a poster and stickers to help motivate your staff to take simple energy saving measures. It also details the free products and services the Carbon Trust offers to help you make further savings.

Web: www.carbontrust.co.uk

Tel: 0800 085 2005

Invest in your future

You don’t have to invest in new technologies to lower your energy costs and reduce your carbon emissions, but it’s a quicker way to get ahead.

New research has revealed that lack of time and expertise to measure and reduce their carbon emissions is preventing the UK’s small and medium businesses from grabbing their share of the £3 billion worth of achievable business energy savings. In response, the Carbon Trust is launching an Energy Efficiency Loans campaign that urges businesses to take action now and apply for an interest free loan to replace or upgrade existing equipment to more energy-efficient versions.

Web: www.carbontrust.co.uk/loans

Carbon Management

Is your organisation prepared for the impact of climate change and carbon emission reduction?

If you’ve got this far down the page, you’re probably serious about reducing your organisation’s carbon footprint.

Carbon Management, from the Carbon Trust, is designed for organisations that wish to manage and reduce their carbon emissions while growing profitably. It provides a systematic approach to managing the risks and realising the opportunities that climate change presents. It looks at both the revenue and cost sides of business and involves areas outside the scope of a normal energy or operational efficiency review.

You can download the brochure from the web site. This is ‘Advanced Level’ carbon reduction, and shows that you’re preparing to show leadership on climate change.

“Don’t tell me how to run my business”

All of the above is free, easy and ready to go. All will save your business money both immediately, and in the long term. And all will engage your staff and add value to your business in the eyes of your customers.

Nevertheless, I guarantee that nine out of ten readers will do nothing, either because they’ll put it off for another day, or because they don’t like being told what to do. Will you be the one in ten?

Email Phil with your genuine carbon reduction initiatives within the promotional industry, and he’ll write about the best of them next month.

philcontinental@mac.com

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