Carbon Clear says that SMEs can not only save money by becoming more environmentally-friendly, but a strong policy on going green could attract more future business.

Mark Chadwick, chief executive officer of Carbon Clear, says customers will start asking ‘What’s your carbon footprint per unit of work?’.

‘So there’s a real value in them having figured it out beforehand and having a strong policy in place, so that they have a robust answer,’ he adds.

According to Carbon Clear, SMEs are looking to become more environmentally-friendly through reducing their emissions rather than off-setting the businesses’ carbon footprint.

Findings from the Carbon Trust show that UK businesses could save £1.4 billion in 2008 through energy efficient measures.

These include replacing tungsten light bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps to save 75 per cent of energy used for lighting.