Is energy efficiency more important to business than cheap rent?

As the government urges Britons to tackle their carbon emissions, business energy efficiency may move up the agendas of many firms, where one added benefit could be cheaper gas and electricity bills.

A property specialist speaking recently to the Birmingham Post has claimed that the government's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) energy efficiency scheme will lead to a "sea change" in the way small and medium-sized businesses choose their office space.

Businesses are going green

David Tonks, head of office agency at DTZ, claimed that when the CRC is launched next April, businesses are likely to look less at how much their work accommodation costs to rent and more at how much it will cost to run, in terms of gas and electric bills and carbon emissions.

"This far-reaching scheme will change forever the way we do business. Occupiers will focus intently on how efficiently a building runs, rather than comparing rental prices per square foot, with the result that modern, grade A property will be even more attractive than before," he explained.

The CRC will see that businesses which use at least 6,000 Megawatt hours of annual half-hourly metered electricity will be able to calculate their energy use and purchase allowances at £12 per tonne of CO2.

Could businesses make a 10:10 commitment?

With the scheme set to be launched in April, businesses may also wish to take the opportunity to pledge their commitment to next year's 10:10 campaign.

Organised by the maker of the Age Of Stupid documentary, the campaign is urging individuals and businesses alike to reduce their energy consumption by ten per cent during 2010.

It is hoped that the more people that get involved, the more significant the impact will be in terms of reduced carbon emissions and lower gas and electricity bills - meaning that business energy efficiency could be a good place to start.