How Much Does ‘Going Green’ Actually Cost?

Throughout the recession, many business owners have switched growth policies for survival strategies. Yet in the context of climate change and global warming, can the small business sector, afford to ignore the ‘Green Imperative’ and how much will it actually cost?

According to a recent report by the Federation of Small Business and the Environment, over 60% of businesses have a codified ‘Green Policy’ in which they stipulate how their company operates environmentally and yet that same report found that, since the recession hit, 20% of all those businesses have reduced that amount of time and resource they invest in ‘green issues’. While 15% stated that they could not make the changes they originally conceived due to the fact that it would cost too much to implement.

Michelle Parish, head of environmental science and research at FSB comments:

“While it is extremely encouraging to find that the majority of small businesses in the UK have a clear environmental policy, it is less pleasing to hear that the economic pressure of the recession has led to a lack of available funds to implement their policy effectively. We feel that there is still little incentive for small businesses to act better environmentally. Schemes such as the one offered by the Carbon Trust – in which they provide an element of funding to encourage businesses act ‘greener’ – are a definite step forward.”