Almost three-quarters of UK small and mid-sized businesses believe new government regulation to reduce carbon emissions will hit their ability to compete globally, a new survey has shown.
Despite general support for reducing carbon emissions, the research conducted by utilities provider npower among 200 UK SMBs revealed unease within the business community about the legislation in place to achieve it. This includes the
proposed mandatory cap and trade scheme, the
Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC),
that for now will apply to large non energy-intensive organisations in the public and private sectors.
When questioned about the CRC, 71% of intensive energy users said that they believed the scheme would make the UK uncompetitive. The survey also revealed that respondents are finding it difficult to see the projected benefits of the introduction of such legislation, with 63% saying they thought the costs of implementation was likely to outweigh the benefits.
Confidence in the proposed cap and trade scheme is also on the wane; under half of those questioned believed that the CRC would meet its target of reducing carbon emissions by 1.2 million tonnes each year by the year 2020.
The government has introduced such schemes in order to incentivise UK companies to take strident steps to reduce their carbon footprint. However, some companies voiced fears that such schemes will put UK companies at a disadvantage when faced with their European counterparts who are not facing such a rigid regulatory framework.
But it’s not all bad news. Paul Coffey, managing director of npower business, said that companies are increasingly realising that it makes good business sense to take environmental concerns seriously. “While the need to actively reduce CO2 has become a business requirement in the last few years, it will increasingly become a priority as low carbon outputs become evermore linked with strong financial performance.”
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2008
