Call for firms to adopt 'green champions'

News Article - 06 May 2008
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Businesses are being urged to adopt 'green champions' in order to promote more environmentally-friendly initiatives.

According to Scottish Business in the Community (SBC), steps being taken by businesses in Scotland to help tackle global warming are "encouraging", but more still needs to be done to make the country a low carbon economy.

The Herald reports that Scottish companies called on firms to adopt 'business champions' during a climate change awareness event in Edinburgh.

The recent May Day Business Summit on Climate Change attracted over 1,600 delegates to 12 locations in Britain and engaged thousands of staff to help combat climate change and reduce carbon footprints.

Susan Rice, chief executive of Lloyds TSB Scotland, announced that the company is now carbon neutral and has further plans to slash its carbon emissions by 30 per cent by 2012, compared with 2002 figures.

"Some of the initiatives are around our customers, such as encouraging online rather than paper communications," she explained. "Others involve our people, our buildings and the way we do business - both internally and externally."

Businesses in Scotland are calling on the government to provide more guidance on how to reduce carbon dioxideemissions and achieve targets and a poll of delegates at the recent summit in Edinburgh found that 65 per cent were prepared to tackle climate change, while 87 per cent wanted the Scottish government to provide more advice.

The May Day Network is the largest movement of businesses in the UK committed to helping combat global warming through collective action.

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