Press & PR

Putting investment into energy efficiency can bring firms a financial reward as well as the knowledge they are helping save the environment, it has been suggested.

Research by Envirowise found that 79 per cent of firms believe energy efficiency to be important and the number of companies actively working to reduce their consumption has increased by 48 per cent over the past year.

"Those who embed sustainability into their business plan will see greater savings than those who pick just one or two areas to focus on," said Dr Martin Gibson of the environmental advice organisation.

"Companies will see greater savings the more measures they undertake."

Measures to cut energy usage include turning off lights and computers when not in use, while Dr Gibson highlighted the benefits of reducing the amount of resources a firm consumes.

"Up to 85 per cent of environmental initiatives do not cost anything at all - just think of printing double-sided. That one small step alone saved a training consultancy £40,000."


Further environmentally friendly changes being introduced by firms include the greater use of remote working, which allows employees to carry out their duties at home and means they do not emit pollution on their journey into the office.

This has been made easier and cheaper by the development of internet voice services, such as those offered by Vonage.

Instead of racking up call costs over a landline, workers using VonageV-Plan 1 have a fixed cost of £5.99 for unlimited calls to the UK and Ireland.