A new analysis released by the Carbon Trust shows that businesses in Edinburgh could save £17.8 million a year by taking action on climate change. It is now easier for companies to find the finance to increase energy efficiency as £100m in new funding was made available in the Budget, most of which be delivered through the Carbon Trust.

Mark commented:

"I urge businesses to take advantage of the help provided by the Carbon Trust to reduce their energy bills. This ranges from advice on very basic changes to interest free loans for larger projects.

"The kind of steps that companies can take may often be quite small such as better insulation or new lighting but they can have big effects in terms of cutting both energy bills and carbon emissions."

Edinburgh appears on a map of the top 40 areas across the UK that have the greatest potential to save businesses money by taking measures to reduce their carbon footprint.  Collectively UK business could save over £2.5 billion a year through cost effective carbon reduction measures, such as replacing old boilers or installing new lighting.

The map is part of the Carbon Trust’s ‘One Million A Day’ campaign, encouraging businesses of all sizes to prioritise saving energy and reducing carbon emissions to make significant cost savings.

The Carbon Trust is already helping businesses of all sizes across the UK to cut costs by saving energy through practical help and advice, including providing interest free loans to upgrade to energy efficient equipment.  

Backed by Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, the campaign’s target is to help save the UK economy £1 billion over the next three years and reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by at least 17m tonnes CO2 – equivalent to heating nearly 5.5 million average UK homes annually.

Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust, said: “We’re talking about money that businesses in Edinburgh could save from their energy bills by making quick and easy changes such as encouraging staff to turn off computers, changing lighting, turning down the heating, or replacing out of date equipment.”

“Being more energy efficient can reduce costs for any business by up to as much as 20 per cent. We urge UK businesses to prioritise action on carbon reduction and to contact the Carbon Trust to find out more about the interest free loans and other support available.”

The Carbon Trust says most businesses could save up to 20% on energy bills by taking low cost or no cost action on energy efficiency.  

Three key areas for immediate action are:

Energy Management – possible energy saving measures include metering and monitoring, staff awareness and setting board level policies to effectively identify opportunities and monitor results

Improved Lighting – installing controls, replacing and upgrading lamps to energy efficient versions and installing motion detectors are just a few examples here of action that could be taken

Efficient Heating – such as upgrading inefficient boilers, installing controls, improving insulation and improving maintenance schedules.