Business is urged to go green

Take energy usage as an example, the value of energy wasted by British companies each year is estimated to be £1bn . Turning off unneeded electric lights would reduce the average company’s energy bill by up to 19 per cent . In addition, if every worker in the UK switched off their computer and monitor before going home each night, the amount of energy saved in a year would be enough to make 21000 cups of coffee.

Mike Low, Director of BSI British Standards said:

“Environmental standards such as ISO 14001 represent a significant opportunity for organisations to minimise their environmental impact and capitalise on greater operational efficiencies.

“Standards provide business with practical tools for setting and achieving environmental targets and objectives at both organisational and product or service levels. ISO 14001 specifies continuous improvement as a prerequisite which means building on the successes of the past to raise performance.

“When you consider that if everyone in the world consumed at the average rate we do in the UK, we would need three planets, we all need businesses to act quickly to accelerate change.”

Registrations to ISO 14001 now exceed 100,000 worldwide and take up has dramatically increased in the past two years.

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