Businesses should be aware of their carbon emissions, according to one expert.Businesses should be aware of their carbon emissions, according to one expert.

A spokesman for the Centre for Alternative Technology, which researches sustainable and ecologically sound ways of life, suggested bosses carry out energy and emissions audits immediately to find out which problem areas need to be tackled.

“Once you have an understanding of where your emissions are coming from, you can look at the different options for reducing them in those areas. The first thing really is to get that understanding,” he explained.

Using renewable energy can be cost-effective, the spokesman added, explaining that lots of electricity companies already have suitable portfolios to help those who want to switch.

He also criticised the government for not acting fast enough to cut emissions, saying it should use a ‘carrot and stick’ style approach with incentives and legislation to penalise people who do not care about energy efficiency.

A recent study by Climate Strategies found that the current pledges to reduce carbon emissions are not doing enough.

Posted by Hayley Edwards