Business committed to 'green performance'

News Article - 11 June 2009
Category: Environment

There is a genuine commitment to environmental issues among FTSE 250 companies, a new survey has found.

According to a poll by BSI British Standards, 95 per cent of companies polled believed their environmental performance had improved over the decade.

This is an 11 per cent increase compared to two years ago and supports further evidence from the survey that environmental attitudes are changing.

More than one third (35 per cent) cited rising energy costs as their largest concern, while 81 per cent claimed to have introduced an environmental management system, such as carbon accounting software.

Mike Low, director of BSI British Standards, said he hoped that businesses of "any size and sector" would appreciate the environmental benefits of such a system for their business processes.

He said: "Most people now accept that everyone must take action on the environment and it's clear that there is recognition of the business and social benefits of going green in the boardroom.

"The challenge is to use specific standards to measure the impact and reduce costs."

Underlining the commitment to the environment in the business world, a derelict tyre factory in Birmingham has recently been transformed into an ecobuilding care of redevelopment company Urban Splash.

Features include one of Europe's largest green roofs and water conserving facilities.

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