Businesses want tax incentives to invest in energy efficiency

Greenwise Staff

14th June 2010

Most UK companies are not yet investing in energy efficiency, but would if the Government offered them tax incentives to do so, a new survey has found.

The report, by workplace solutions provider Regus, found that two thirds (66 per cent) of UK companies have no company policy to invest in energy efficient equipment and that among SMEs that figure rises to almost three quarters (72 per cent). SMEs make up the majority of businesses in the UK and account for half of its turnover.

The poll found the uptake of energy efficient or low carbon equipment would increase significantly in the UK were the Government to offer tax incentives, however. More than three quarters of companies (76 per cent) declared that if such incentives existed they would significantly accelerate their green investments.

The survey found that only a fifth of UK companies monitor their carbon footprint (20 per cent). Of that only 12 per cent of SMEs said they monitored their footprint. Meanwhile, just 34 per cent of UK companies monitor their energy consumption.

The Government has to meet ambitious targets to reduce carbon emissions, and the Regus research suggests that meeting them will require business to significantly increase its investment in energy efficiency. Non-domestic buildings currently account for 18 per cent of the UK’s emissions and the UK is committed to reducing overall carbon emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

Cost barrier

Almost half of UK companies (47 per cent) surveyed declared they would only invest in low carbon equipment if it were cheaper or the same cost to run as conventional equipment.

"Take-up of green equipment and monitoring initiatives is still disappointingly low, particularly for smaller companies," said Regus ceo Mark Dixon. "If the Government is serious about meeting ambitious carbon emission reduction targets by mid-century, then it needs to properly incentivise the change.

"At the moment, low carbon business technology is often limited in range and sold at premium pricing. This is proving an obstacle for businesses to invest in it – tax breaks will help enormously, as our survey shows, and by accelerating take-up will also help to create a mass market where unit prices fall."

The Regus survey interviewed over 15,000 businesses from Regus’ global database between February and March 2010. It found that 40 per cent of companies globally have invested in low carbon equipment while 38 per cent have a company policy to do so.

In terms of measuring carbon emissions, it found that 37 per cent of companies worldwide did so and less than a fifth of companies (19 per cent) measure the carbon footprint left by their activities.

According to the World Business Council for Sustainable Development, buildings today account for 40 per cent of the world’s energy use, resulting in CO2 emissions significantly greater than those of the transport sector.