Tuesday 14 May 2013

Smaller businesses ‘worse’ at being green than big ones

Smaller businesses are lagging behind larger ones when it comes to being green, it was claimed this week.

A new poll showed people working at firms with more than 250 employees said they are twice as likely (40%) to be encouraged to be green at work than employees at smaller companies (21%).

The poll comes as people are urged to recycle more and save energy in their workplace as part of Green Office Week (13th to 17th May).

Out of 1,000 office workers asked, more than 4 in 5 would like to see the businesses they work for do more for the environment.

The survey by OnePoll found 40% of office workers would still not rate their company as environmentally-friendly and less than 30% feel they are encouraged to implement green practices at work.

Two of the biggest factors holding firms back are not having anyone specifically in charge of environmental issues (34%) and a lack of specialist green facilities and equipment (33%).

Nearly a fifth of people complained they were too busy and didn’t have enough time to be green. Despite this, more than 60% said they would be happier if their workplace was seen to be more environmentally-friendly.