Businesses must wise up to environmental effort

Businesses in the UK in general were also shown to lose around 4.5% of their turnover by not recycling and reusing waste materials effectively enough.

However, the environmental regulation service for small businesses, NetRegs, found that Scotland alone produces 15 million tonnes of waste annually, the equivalent of each person in the country filling one and a half refuse bags each day for a year.

The company stated that businesses could easily save around £1,000 per employee if simple energy efficiency measures were taken more regularly, such as switching off unused lights or recycling drinks cans and paper.

Parliamentary Officer for the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB), John Downie, said he welcomed the move by NetRegs to provide companies with practical help on understanding environmental legislation and how it related to the way they conducted business.

“Businesses can make lots of savings by improving their environmental performance and complying with environmental legislation,” he commented.

NetRegs was formed in March this year after an online poll for the Forum of Private Businesses revealed that 55% of those questioned did not know whether their company complied with environmental legislation.

By Jane Kettle