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Much has been made of the increase to VAT and the rising fuel duty which is hitting ordinary motorists and haulage businesses hard in the pocket. Less has been said about the green taxes which are part of the UK’s pledge to reduce carbon emissions and greenhouse gases as part of the Carbon Management Commitment.

In the future, companies are going to be required to report on their green credentials in their annual reports, and feedback to the government about what they are doing to reduce their environmental impact. Fines for companies who fail to report are faced with fines of up to £45,000.

Reducing the amount of energy used in a company and making it more energy efficient is something all companies should be doing as many of the measures that can be taken cost very little and every pound saved on energy is a pound more on the bottom line profits. Even doing things like putting up signs reminding staff to switch off lights and computers before going home for the night can save considerable sums, and staff can also be supported in making choices such as car sharing, or working from home to save the journey to work. Many other things like insulation or purchasing locally sourced products can also help reduce the carbon footprint of your business.

Businesses don’t have to do all of this on their own though. The government’s department for Energy and Climate Change will give basic advice, and there are numerous consultancy companies who will come into your business, assess your current situation and then make recommendations as to how make improvements. As part of this, they may suggest that you try for ISO 14001 accreditation, which are a set of environmental management standards helping to minimise your impact on the environment, both locally and globally. To get full ISO 14001 accreditation you would have to complete the whole process and be independently audited, but smaller businesses may find that following the broad guidelines and theories will give them enough of a head start to understand how best to go about making their business more efficient and more eco-friendly too.

Employees are not as resistant to ideas about making businesses more environmentally friendly as they may be about other changes to the business. Green issues are never out of the news and with people being encouraged to make their own homes more efficient it comes as no surprise that they are expected to make the same changes in their work place. Many businesses have a working group made up of employees from many different departments to come up with ideas for improvements, and this is a good way of involving staff in the entire process.