Only one fifth of UK employees think their company is playing its part in the battle against climate change, a new survey has shown.
The research, conducted by the Carbon Trust, found that the majority of staff were keen to reduce their carbon footprint, but lacked guidance from their employers to do so.
The good news for employers is that many measures to cut carbon emissions also improve energy efficiency therefore adding value to the business. Yet, four fifths of the workers surveyed said that there was no training in place to teach them how to reduce emissions.
Added to this, two thirds said their employer had made no attempt to encourage them to consider ways of reducing their carbon footprint by taking alternative transport to work.
Luckily, many employees are showing initiative and not waiting for guidance from employers; almost half have already taken personal steps to reduce their emissions at work in the last 12 months.
Hugh Jones, solutions director at the Carbon Trust said that the time for businesses to act is now. “In the current economic climate it’s never been more important for businesses, of all sizes, to act on climate change.”
“With savings of up to 20% to be made on energy bills through no cost or cost effective measures it makes perfect business sense to empower employees to do their bit both at work and at home.”
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