Print Email to a friend
Print Printer friendly
 
 
 
 

Our business barometer highlights accelerating carbon awareness

Independent research conducted for the Carbon Trust by FDS International reveals a big change in awareness of climate change and action to reduce carbon emissions over the last two years. The survey of UK business leaders revealed that a third of UK businesses now have a carbon emission-reduction policy or plan. Of all the carbon mitigation plans or policies now in place, 60% were introduced during the last two years, while 41% of those introduced by FTSE companies were established in 2007. However, despite the gathering momentum, the survey also reveals an enormous gap between the ways in which larger and smaller companies are responding to the issues. The findings can be summarised as follows:

Climate change has already impacted on just over a quarter of all UK businesses.

43% of large businesses, including FTSEs, claimed to have been affected. The most common effect cited, reported by 9% of respondents, was changing market needs. Almost as prominent, reported by 8%, were physical impacts such as flooding.

For FTSE leaders, climate change is now a strategic issue:

  • 60% of FTSEs see climate change as an opportunity, compared to 27% of all UK businesses
  • 22% of FTSEs see an opportunity to rethink their products and services in the light of climate change, compared to 5% of all UK businesses
  • For non-FTSE companies, climate change mitigation is seen primarily as an opportunity to reduce costs


FTSEs are further ahead in carbon footprint measurement

While 46% of FTSE companies claim to have measured their carbon footprints, only 1% of the general business community believe they know theirs. Large companies (at 15%) and medium sized companies (at 12%) have some way to go.

Other findings include:

  • 32% of all UK companies have an emissions-reduction plan or policy
  • 3% of UK businesses claim to be carbon neutral


Want help with your own carbon reduction plans?

The first step in reducing your organisation’s carbon footprint is to measure it. To get an immediate indication of your carbon footprint, use our online calculator. Then you can apply for a free on-site carbon survey to find out what you can do about reducing it

use our carbon calculator now button

   Find out more and apply button
 
 
 
Footnotes
 
Research was carried out by FDS on behalf of the Carbon Trust amongst 700 leaders from a representative sample of UK businesses via telephone in September/October 2007. Samples of FTSE, large (250+ employees) and medium (50-249 employees) companies were boosted in order to examine these attitudes separately, however the final data was weighted to represent the population of all UK businesses in terms of number of companies.  Therefore results have a margin of error of +/- 5.3% for UK business as a whole at the 95% confidence interval.  That is to say that we are 95% confident that the true population data lie within +/-5.3% of quoted survey results.