Environmental measures cut business costs

Resource efficiency and better waste management are now seen by a majority of businesses not only as measures to improve their environmental performance, but also as a way of cutting their overall costs.

A survey by Envirowise has revealed that 85 per cent of businesses said reducing waste, cutting raw material use and recovering energy, were the three best environmental measures for cutting costs.

The government-funded organisation said the findings revealed that a growing number of businesses were realising that environmental measures had economic benefits.

"With fuel, energy and raw material costs continuing to rise and changes in the economy persisting in creating challenging marketplaces, there has never been a better time to lead the way in using resources wisely, eliminating waste and ultimately raising environmental standards," said programme manager Elaine Sharp.

Last week the British Chamber of Commerce warned that the next six to nine months might see businesses face a "difficult and risky climate".

But companies could reduce their costs by following certain steps, which could help them not only weather the economic downturn, but come out the other end strengthened.