Call for 'GREEN' Pledges During Business Week

This article appeared in The West Briton 21 June 2007
 
More than 50 Cornish businesses - between them employing 1,300 people - have pledged to take steps to be more sustainable and environmentally friendly as part of a major drive taking place for Cornwall Business Week next week.Companies of all sizes and from a variety of sectors have signed up to Cornwall Business Week's Day of Action on June 27, with organiser Cornwall Pure Business continuing to receive new pledges each day.
Lucy Thom, inward investment manager for Cornwall Pure Business, the county's inward investment team, said: "The idea behind the Day of Action was to demonstrate how simple it is for businesses to become more sustainable, as well as highlight the county's commitment to going green. Cornwall is working towards becoming the green peninsula of the UK and this will only be possible with the business community's support."
Cornwall Pure Business is working with Envision, a not-for-profit independent environmental business supporting organisations in the South West, to deliver the "Growing Greener" campaign. Pledges businesses have taken include: changing your route to work - such as car sharing or walking; turning lights off where possible; using energy-saving light bulbs; turning the heating down by one degree and cutting down on office printing.
Ms Thom said: "There is a real appetite among businesses to be more sustainable, but it's often talked about with little action being taken. We hope this Day of Action will help prompt businesses to put in place longer-term measures that are not only more environmentally friendly, but also more efficient, leading to greater cost savings."
Throughout Business Week (June 25-30) there are a number of events taking place for businesses, including Cornwall College's business surgeries; environmental workshops at the Eden Project; the annual Hub Awards for young business people; Cornwall Sustainable Energy Partnership's conference on European best practice and the Cornwall Sustainable Building Trust's networking event on sustainable building.
Justin Olosunde, Envision business mentor, said: "Cornwall Business Week provides a fantastic opportunity for businesses to think twice about their working practices. There are many ways businesses can make significant cost savings and increase profits by becoming more sustainable.
"Waste, water, transport, energy and even your building can all be sources of unnecessary financial spend as well as excessive carbon emissions, but there are often simple solutions to prevent this. For example by turning your thermostat down by one degree, you can save up to 8 per cent on your heating bill."
A competition is being run which will provide the winner with a free consultation with Envision as well as a behind the scenes tour of the Eden Project's Waste Neutral Programme.