Businesses ask for government help in cutting carbon

Four in five businesses believe the government must do more to motivate companies to reduce their carbon footprint, according to a recent survey by Access Accounting.

Eighty four percent of those polled said the government is failing in its duty to help businesses reduce carbon emissions.

Just one in twenty (5%) said the government is already doing enough.

Tax breaks for companies who cut their carbon emissions were the most popular proposal, with 62% of respondents supporting this.

However, over a third (36%) said the government needs to get tougher on companies who refuse to reduce their carbon footprint.

More than half (57%) said better information was needed to educate businesses on how to reduce carbon output.

Kevin Misselbrook, Access Accounting spokesperson, said: “With such a strong majority feeling, I’m surprised that green incentives haven’t been prioritised.”

He added that until the government starts taking a hands on approach, businesses should take the initiative in becoming more environmentally friendly.

“While the Government needs to do more to encourage carbon-reduction, businesses should look beyond the environmental benefits of going green and understand the cost benefits associated with reducing carbon emissions,” Misselbrook said.

“By measuring its current carbon footprint, a company can start to understand where carbon-cuts can be made.

“This might be initiatives to reduce power consumption and waste in the office, or utilising new communication technologies to cut back on unnecessary travelling.”