Businesses want the government to pay them to become more energy efficient
Businesses want the government to pay them to make their premises energy efficient, according to the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC).
In a new report, launched today, 36 per cent of businesses told the BCC the best thing that could be done to encourage them to spend on energy efficient technology and equipment would be to simply give them the cash to do so.
One in five firms said they would settle for tax breaks, rather than grants – meaning over half of all businesses wanted direct financial support to invest in making their companies greener.
Read more: Mark Carney wants banks to battle climate change
Despite the low oil price, only 13 per cent of firms' said their energy costs had come down over the last 18 months, while one-third said they had got more expensive.
Mike Spicer, director of research and economics at the BCC said: "These results demonstrate that getting the economics of investment right for energy efficiency is crucial to promoting take-up. At a time when businesses face growing upfront cost pressures from other sources, grants and tax breaks have an important role to play in offsetting the cost of new energy efficiency measures."