UK plc could save £6.4bn a year through efficiency alone

UK businesses could save up to £6.4bn a year by simply embracing so-called resource efficiency measures, according to a major study to be released later today by the government-backed Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

The research, which was undertaken by the Stockholm Environment Institute and will be launched at WRAP's annual conference in London, argues that measures designed to extend the life of products, promote recycling and ensure energy and raw materials are used as efficiently as possible could deliver up to a tenth of the UK's short-term emission reductions, saving 254 million tonnes of CO2 over the next 10 years at no net cost to the economy,

The report also calculated that households could save up to £47.3bn a year by using products such as clothes and electronic devices through to their end of life.

"Until now, making best use of our natural resources has not been high enough on the agenda as one of the contributors to meeting climate change targets," said Liz Goodwin, chief executive at WRAP. "In the run-up to Copenhagen, this research has an important message. It shows that resource efficiency could prove a secret weapon as it allows immediate action to meet pressing and challenging targets."

The research was launched alongside a new campaign from Defra designed to help businesses save money through improved resource efficiency. Called Saving money – it's your business, the campaign aims to provide managers with best practice and advice and case studies illustrating how best to cut costs through resource efficiency measures.

According to a new YouGov poll of FTSE 350 companies commissioned by WRAP, almost half of businesses recognise they would deliver cost savings of more than £100,000 a year through low-cost efficiency measures, while almost two thirds said they had instigated environmental initiatives in the past year that were designed to save money.

Environment secretary Hilary Benn urged businesses to embrace resource efficiency measures and target commercial opportunities that could arise for increased demand for more efficient products and materials. "There are opportunities here in the UK… in low-carbon and environmental goods and services, where we currently have just over three per cent of the global market, " he said. "This will grow as consumers become increasingly environmentally aware and companies realise that waste is just a resource in another form and that sustainability is the key not only to the environment but to business success."

However, the WRAP summit comes as speculation continues about the scale of the organisation's budget settlement and the long-term future of the government's green business advisory bodies.

As reported by BusinessGreen.com, leaked preliminary budget figures reveal that civil servants are considering freezing WRAP's budget for the third year in succession, despite the fact the agency will from next year be integrated with six other business advisory bodies.

Meanwhile, insiders are increasingly concerned that if elected, a Conservative government would make good on its pledge to slash the number of quangos operating in the UK by folding a number of environmentally focused agencies into Defra.