smallbusiness.co.uk: Helping your business think big

Businesses can save money by employing greener methods, but it requires some investment upfront which may put firms off.

The National Computing Centre advises many businesses could benefit in the long term from investing in greener equipment, but are reluctant to embark on projects which require substantial outlay.

Michael Dean, group marketing manager at the organisation, states many companies are willing to engage in 'easy to implement solutions', such as turning off equipment or deploying print management systems.

However, 'capital investments are less likely to be signed off', he says.

The expert states in the economic downturn many firms may unconsciously make green moves to reduce day-to-day costs.

'It is highly likely that many organisations will be able to identify underutilised assets and reduce their IT overheads. Whilst this isn't a green motive it will have a positive effect,' Dean adds.

Recent research from Kyocera Mita, a document imaging division of the Kyocera Corporation, discovered over a quarter of companies are aiming to achieve carbon-neutral status and 68 per cent have environmental measures in place.

In addition, 56 per cent of firms report budget constraints are the biggest barrier against deploying green methods and the majority feel their motivation for being more environmentally sound is derived from a sense of duty.