smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Trying to hire staff

There’s no getting round the fact that great ideas are...
Have your say »

RSS

Carbon Trust: SMEs could save 30% on lighting

Aug 29 2008

Email a friend

Making changes to lighting systems could save retail outlets some 30 per cent on their electricity bills, the Carbon Trust reports.

The organisation has launched a guide which is intended to highlight how businesses can save money through using more energy-efficient technology.

By doing this, retailers can ensure they comply with all relevant legislation, the Carbon Trust remarks.

Making more effective use of natural light and combining such initiatives with energy-efficient lightbulbs could lead to significant savings for retail businesses, without impacting customer experience, the body believes.

Hugh Jones, solutions director at the Carbon Trust, says retailers are under pressure to demonstrate their carbon credentials to both employees and customers and recommends employing these strategies as part of a business initiative as well as to save money.

Figures from the government-established Carbon Trust show commercial and industrial lighting consumes around 20 per cent of all the electrical energy generated in the UK.

Comments

There are currently no comments on this article

Prize Draw

Free prize draw!

Smallbusiness.co.uk has teamed up with Avery® Quick&Clean™ Business Cards to offer five lucky readers the chance to win a copy of BBC Dragons' Den James Caan's new book The Real Deal and a pack of Avery® premium heavyweight business cards. To enter the prize draw, simply answer our question here

Polls

Latest News

New start-up programme approved

Lord Peter Mandelson has given the go-ahead for a new £35 million scheme to create over 12,500 new businesses in the north-west.

Tax third-biggest expense for SMEs

Cash-strapped SMEs are spending a significant proportion of expenditure on taxation, research by debt protection group Creditsafe reveals.

Tax return scam warning

Just weeks before the deadline for filing tax returns, fraudsters are targeting individuals with scam emails.

Firms' gender pay gap figures to be revealed

Companies may be forced to publish figures on the pay difference between male and female employees, in changes to the government's equality bill.

Poor health and safety could see firms go under

Health and safety could make or break a company, as one expert warns firms which play at it will find it hard to survive the current climate.

Entrepreneurs adding a day to their working week

Entrepreneurs are adding eight hours to their working week in a bid to counter the effects of the recession, new research shows.

Lack of credit 'could lead to 1930's-level recession'

The lack of credit is the biggest concern facing businesses in 2009 and could lead to the recession reaching levels seen in the 1930s, one expert asserts.

Businesses should conduct health checks

Firms should conduct a company MOT to ensure they are maximising cashflow, marketing and business opportunities and are able to survive the current tough conditions.

Rate cut should be 1%

The monetary policy committee should cut rates to one per cent this Thursday but this alone will be inadequate and should be backed up with other, far-reaching policies, one organisation states.

SMEs lacking pension schemes

The vast majority of SMEs do not offer workplace pension schemes, according to a survey by advisory body the Association of Consulting Actuaries (ACA).

Firms 'should consider long-term cost of redundancies'

Firms should consider the ultimate cost of redundancies and use them as a last resort to cut outgoings, after it was revealed it comes at a price of over £16,000 per employee.

Guides & Tips

Tune into remote working

Forthcoming legislation is set to extend the rights of employees who wish to work from home. Here Ollie Chivers, head of business marketing at T-Mobile, and SmallBusiness.co.uK, show you how to get remote working right

Customer Relationship Management (CRM) can mean staff are being properly utilised

How to get more from your customers

No matter what your business, when it comes to sales the customer is king. Having a good Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system in place can help you increase turnover today as well as spot where tomorrow’s sales might come from.

Redundancy is not the only option

Many SMEs will have to control staffing costs over the coming months. Smallbusiness.co.uk has teamed up with Simon Kite, a partner at chartered accountants Saffery Champness, to offer some tips on how to cut costs and avoid the redundancy route

Don't Miss

Karin Ridges: Mad about ethical businesses

Rising Star: Karin Ridges

Karin Ridges founded Mad Promotions, a PR company for ethical businesses, back in 2005. Since then she has started internet TV company Veggie Vision

Is your current account as good as it should be?

In the UK, most people have a current account of some sort, and the reality is that most people don't spend a huge amount of time thinking about anything other than the balance in them. Usually, people stick with their current account provider for years and assuming mistakes aren't made, pay little attention to them beyond that.

Virtualised disaster recovery

Virtualisation is already helping companies get more out of their servers. Now, the revolutionary technology is providing a novel way to stay in business in times of disaster.

Store

FT Guide to Personal Tax

Formerly the Lloyds TSB Tax Guide, the FT Guide to Personal Tax is now published by Pearson Education. Written by Sara Williams, CEO of Vitesse Media Plc and Jonquil Lowe, this unique guide gives step-by-step advice to completing your tax return as well as 100 tax-saving tips.

FT Guide to Business Start Up

Formerly the Lloyds TSB Small Business Guide, the FT Guide to Business Start Up is now published by Pearson Education. Written by Sara Williams, CEO of Vitesse Media Plc, this unique guide has sold over two million copies. It offers practical advice about starting and running your own business.

Growth Company Investor

Growth Company Investor is widely recognised as the leading magazine for investors interested in AIM and smallcap companies. Published 10 times per year, and brought to you by an award-winning analyst team, it offers subscribers unrivalled insight into high-potential smaller companies. Subscribe today with a 50% discount in your first year.