Rising energy prices and higher taxes are the biggest worries facing British businesses in 2010 after the state of the economy, according to new research released by the Carbon Trust.
61% of respondents in the survey of 700 businesses said they are worried about the unstable economy while around half (49%) said they worry about energy price hikes. The same number admitted to worrying about rises in tax.
Concerns about energy prices are highest in industries with high energy use such as construction (55%), manufacturing (53%) and hospitality (52%).
Far fewer businesses are worried about a possible change in government (20%) or complying with environmental legislation (13%).
The extent of business worries over energy prices was revealed as the Carbon Trust, kicked off a drive to persuade British companies to stop wasting over £3bn of energy every year. Over 40% of the businesses interviewed said that one of their New Year resolutions is to reduce the amount of energy their business uses.
The “Best Advice” campaign was launched by Ian Cheshire, Chief Executive of Kingfisher, the parent company of B&Q. It calls on businesses to take the first step to cutting their energy wastage through a free Carbon Survey from the Carbon Trust.
The Carbon Survey, available free of charge to all businesses that spend between £50,000 and £3million on energy each year, provides the services of an energy expert on site and a tailored energy-saving action plan. It typically identifies possible savings on energy costs of between 20% and 30%.
Businesses that have already taken advantage of the service and cut their energy bills as a result include organic food supplier Abel & Cole, The Lowry Hotel in Manchester and landscaping product manufacturer Marshalls.
Ian Cheshire said: “It is simply good business sense to be smarter about the way we use energy. It cuts costs, makes us more efficient and improves our reputation with customers. I would encourage any business that has yet to embark on the energy efficiency journey to pick up the phone and book in a Carbon Trust survey. It is likely to be the best piece of free advice a business will get this year.”
B&Q has significantly cut its energy costs and made a carbon saving of 10,000 tonnes of CO2 by working with the Carbon Trust since 2008. The company has engaged staff to save energy and improved heating and lighting, as well as through improvements to buildings.
The Carbon Trust’s Best Advice survey also asked business people who had given them the best piece of business advice they ever received and which famous business person they would turn to for advice given the chance.
Only 16% of respondents said their bank manager or accountant had given them the best business advice. Far more said it had been a colleague (38%), a good friend (36%) or their boss (32%).
Virgin tycoon, Richard Branson, was the most popular choice of business mentor with almost one third (31%) of respondents wanting to turn to him for advice. The Dragon’s Den dragons were the second most in-demand (18%) with Alan Sugar in third place (12%). X Factor mogul, Simon Cowell, was picked by only three per cent of those interviewed.
All businesses spending £50,000 or more on their energy consumption are being urged to visit www.thebestadvice.co.uk, or dial 0186588 5788 for more information and to register for their free Carbon Survey.
Businesses spending less than £50,000 can access free, expert advice via a new Cut Carbon, Cut Costs online tutorial delivered through the Carbon Trust. It gives easy-to-follow video advice on how to cut energy bills and shows users how to calculate potential savings and develop a plan for achieving them.
Since 2006, the Carbon Trust has delivered over £180m in energy savings to British businesses through its Carbon Surveys. The Carbon Trust estimates that British businesses currently spending between £50,000 and £3m on their annual energy bills, could reduce their collective energy spend by more than £3bn by implementing energy saving actions of the type specified in Carbon Trust surveys.
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