UK businesses will face a £1.4bn bill for carbon credits by April 2011, according to research by carbon and energy consultancy firm IMServ.

Record energy prices and a huge increase in ‘green' legislation have resulted in carbon and energy issues becoming a major issue for small and medium-sized companies.

"We're seeing a far greater awareness of the Carbon Reduction Commitment within the business community, but organisations need to start budgeting for these allowances and formulating their carbon strategies now, particularly in light of the recession," said Jon Lane from Datamonitor, who carried out the research.