Commenting on the Budget announcement that an extra £100 million will be given to business service providers to encourage and advise small-to-medium sized businesses (SME's) on energy efficiency Natalie Evans, Chris Martin, President of Surrey Chambers of Commerce says: "We welcome this extra funding to assist small businesses to go green. However, it is important that this money will actually be effective in meeting this aim.
"SME's account for 50% of business energy use so if the Government wants to meet it's Climate Change Bill targets they need to ensure that they support and enable SME's to become more energy efficient.
"SME's are keen to become more energy efficient as a greener workplace creates a more efficient and profitable business.1 "The current system of Environmental Audits has been ineffective with 62% of respondents in a recent survey undertaken by BCC saying that they felt current government initiatives to promote energy efficiency were unsatisfactory.2 "If the Government wants to meet the challenge of climate change it is important that this extra funding is not wasted, but is properly targeted and made easy for business to access so that SME's see a real positive change in the current support provided."
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereComments are closed on this article