Efficient lighting tops the list of green technology investments in a new survey from the Carbon Trust.
Over three-quarters of businesses polled (77%) said they’d invested in energy efficient lighting in the past year, followed by employee awareness training (59%) and energy metering, monitoring and targeting technology (57%).
But while 96% of businesses surveyed said energy efficiency was an important consideration when purchasing or upgrading equipment, only a half (51%) were confident about manufacturers’ energy efficiency claims. 58% of those surveyed said they would have benefited from a trusted database of accredited suppliers in advance of purchasing equipment.
The survey comes as the Carbon Trust announces the launch of its Green Business Directory, a valuable resource for organisations looking to install energy efficiency and low carbon technologies.
The Green Business Directory is accessed through the Carbon Trust website, and features energy efficiency and low carbon equipment suppliers that have been independently assessed and accredited via the Carbon Trust Accredited Supplier scheme, in recognition of their skills and services in delivering low carbon solutions.
With over 40 accredited suppliers already listed, key technologies currently covered in the Directory including lighting, AM&T (automatic metering & targeting), HVAC (heating, ventilation and air conditioning), controls, compressed air, solar PV, biomass, energy efficient UPS (uninterruptible power supplies) and IT, energy efficient hand dryers and voltage management.
Suppliers listed in the Directory benefit from their own summary page, a link to their company website and promotion on the Carbon Trust website, which has over 400,000 unique visitors each year.
Hugh Jones, Managing Director of Business Advice at the Carbon Trust, comments: “Our survey showed that return on investment is the most important factor for organisations considering investing in energy efficiency and low carbon technologies – but accurate business cases require accurate information from suppliers.
"The Green Business Directory will make it easy for organisations to find independently accredited suppliers who have demonstrated their success in delivering sustainable, low carbon solutions in what is a crowded and fast-growing market.”
