Date: 2007-07-17 Category: News

Welsh firms told to help fight climate change

Welsh companies are being urged to do their bit to reduce carbon emissions and help to tackle climate change.

A spokeswoman for environmental charity Global Action Plan has called on business leaders to become more eco-friendly, stressing that there can be "significant savings" made by going green.

According to Charlotte High, SmartWorks programme manager for Global Action Plan, achieving a more eco-friendly business can be beneficial to both the environment and to profits, with some changes, such as reducing paper consumption and waste in offices, costing firms no money at all to implement.

"Going green can be highly cost effective for small businesses as environmental savings often translate into financial savings as well," she explained.

Ms High used a hotel that had managed to save £13,000 a year through increased environmental management practices as an example of good eco-friendly policies in action.

There are many small changes that can be made by small businesses to save energy and reduce emissions, such as turning down heating or air conditioning slightly, switching off monitors and PCs when they are not in use, turning out lights in empty buildings and recycling paper and other items.

Many companies are now investing in green buildings and supporting environmental projects in a bid to reduce their carbon footprint and there are a number of eco-business parks across the UK that champion environmentally aware policies.

© Adfero Ltd