UK Survey Shows Business Still Not Doing Enough to Reduce Carbon Emissions

Colchester, UK, 21 January 2009 – A recent carbon accounting survey by Access Accounting has highlighted that more needs to be done to make carbon-reduction initiatives a priority in the workplace, however businesses are trying to balance this with the need to reduce costs and survive in the current economic climate.

Key survey findings include:
- 59% of respondents either do not know or are not aware if their company is actively monitoring carbon emissions
- 64% of respondents believe their company should be monitoring its carbon emissions
- Only 34% of companies have a dedicated team-member responsible for reduction of their carbon footprint profile
- 49% of companies admit that there is no person within the company responsible for ensuring carbon reduction initiatives are met
- Even with a challenging economic climate, becoming greener (21%) ranks third behind ‘surviving’ (38%) and ‘reducing costs’ (47%) by those surveyed

64% of respondents do recognise that their company should monitor carbon emissions, however only 39% of businesses are actively trying to monitor their carbon output.

Kevin Misselbrook, Customer Services Director for Access Accounting said, “There is a significant disconnect between employees who believe their companies should monitor carbon emissions and companies who are actually doing this. The biggest challenge for business is how they actually start this process and who should be responsible.”

The survey then asked respondents about who is currently responsible for carbon emissions. 66% of respondents said they were either not aware or did not have a dedicated role responsible for monitoring carbon emissions within the company.

When asked who should be responsible for implementing a carbon reduction strategy, there was no clear result – 10% believes it falls on the shoulders of the corporate social responsibility steward, followed by the CEO/MD (10%), the facilities manager (6%), the procurement manager/director (5%) and the PR/Marketing/Communications Director (3%). 61% were unable to answer. 

Misselbrook continued, “There is certainly confusion on where the responsibility of reducing carbon lies within a company. Part of this confusion is because companies do not have a carbon emissions strategy, however the big challenge for many is where to start and at what cost. The answer is measurement; after all you can’t manage what you can’t measure. By using tools to count carbon, companies can identify a clear strategy to reduce their footprint.”

Access Accounting launched the first practical tool to account for carbon emissions earlier this year, making a landmark change that enabled businesses to easily measure their footprint without cost or complexity. This was the first time that the remit for carbon footprint measurement had been taken directly into the accounts function as part of the normal day-to-day routine, making reporting on a businesses carbon footprint as easy as extracting financial reports.

Respondents were also asked what they perceive to be major business drivers over the next 12 months given the current economic climate. Respondents rated surviving the next 12 months (48%) and reducing costs (38%) as their top priorities. Becoming greener was rated third (24%) followed by increasing profits (20%) and gaining market share (15%).

Alistair O’Reilly, Group Managing Director, Access Technology Group, parent company of Access Accounting said, “The top three rated priorities; surviving, reducing costs and becoming greener, can all be linked. Businesses could look at company wide initiatives to cut its use of fossil fuels and reduce power consumption. For example, by reducing staff travel or encouraging more efficient use of electricity in the office (turning computers and printers off), companies could reduce carbon emissions while saving significant costs on travel and energy.

“This survey demonstrates that carbon reduction is seen as important and that many companies need to put a more defined green strategy in place. I am convinced that the planet needs to reduce its carbon footprint and this can only be achieved if everyone plays a part and business leads the way. I have no doubt that green business is good business; in fact it is essential because of the adverse economic impact of climate change.” (To see more of Alistair’s opinion visit http://blog.access-accounts.com/)