The findings were released by the Energy Efficiency Financing (EEF) scheme, which was set up by the Carbon Trust and Siemens Financial Services to offer financing options to organisations seeking to reduce their energy consumption.

A number of sectors were examined in the analysis to calculate the amount industries were overpaying on their energy bills because of inefficient technology, equipment and controls.

EEF head of green financing Darren Riva said: “Our analysis has shown that there is a huge market potential for energy savings from business investment in energy-efficient equipment, amounting to over £3.7bn per year across the country, and around £2.2bn in the industrial sector alone.

“That potential energy saving covers motors, compressed air, high/low temperature processes, lighting and space heating, amongst others.”

“In the current credit squeeze, a major problem for firms has been access to affordable finance to enable business to make those green investments. That is why EEF was created – a joint financing initiative between the Carbon Trust and Siemens – to make finance more accessible and affordable for companies, especially SMEs. These investments improve business competitiveness, cut carbon and boost the green growth.”

Riva explained that the EEF scheme matches monthly payments to real monthly energy cost savings, meaning that firms effectively end up paying no extra for their new equipment investment.

Conor McGlone

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