The announcement by British Telecom that the company will be investing heavily in building its own wind farms to provide its own source of renewable energy is welcome news for Britain’s efforts in meeting its renewables targets.
The fact that one of Britain’s biggest blue chip consumers of energy is taking such steps ought to boost its national image and reduce long-term energy costs. Blue chips are not alone in experiencing pressure to reduce their carbon footprint. Increasingly, SMEs are being asked to demonstrate their own efforts in improving their own green image. Just like the blue chip, the SME has a number (if somewhat reduced), of options of how to demonstrate its commitment. It may consider what might at first appear to be the simplest option and opt for a ‘green’ tariff. However, for this to have any real effect it would have to be adopted by SMEs en masse.
For smaller businesses, the privilege of selecting a green tariff is simply not a viable option. With an estimated 10% of all business overheads currently funding electricity, spending more – a further 10%, the minimum premium for a ‘green’ tariff, many SMEs would simply go out of business.
For those who are willing to expend that little bit more effort in being environmentally responsible, there is an attractive alternative and doesn’t involve anything ‘green’ or ‘pseudo green’. It simply requires the SME to shop around for the cheapest energy supplier for the best price and use some of the substantial savings made to invest in energy saving practices.
An SME currently spending