Small companies could save £1.4bn and more than 11m tonnes of carbon dioxide by implementing low or no cost energy-efficiency measures, according to the Carbon Trust.
The organisation is urging companies to tackle the issue of energy emissions in response to rising fuel bills and growing consumer pressure for businesses to demonstrate their green credentials.
"Reducing your carbon footprint through improved energy efficiency should be top of the new year's resolution list for any business in 2008," said Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust.
"Putting energy efficiency and carbon saving into action couldn't be easier and switching off lights, turning down the heating and turning off equipment when not in use can save businesses an average of more than 10% on their energy bills."
To start making savings today, the Carbon Trust recommends the following tips:
Measure your company's carbon footprint. This is the essential first step to help your organisation benchmark progress. Visit www.carbontrust.co.uk/footprintcalculator to view the Carbon Trust's carbon footprint calculator
Replace inefficient lights. By changing tungsten light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps will save 75% of energy used for lighting
Switch off PCs. Switching off just one PC out of hours, instead of leaving it on 24 hours a day, will save £35 a year
Switch off all non-essential equipment. A typical office for one night will save enough energy to run a small car for 100 miles
Reduce heating. Lowering the temperature by just one degree would reduce the heating bill for a typical office by up to 8% a year and save enough energy to print over 40m sheets of A4 paper
Fit timers. Seven-day timers fitted to water coolers, vending machines and gaming machines can reduce energy consumption by up to 70%
