Importance of health, safety & environment to your business

Introduce environmental cost-reductions

Minimising waste, from reducing your use of raw materials to cutting down on energy consumption, is one of the most effective steps you can take to protect the environment. And it also reduces your costs.

You may be able to reduce waste without expense. For example, simple steps such as switching equipment off at night can reduce your energy bills significantly. Your employees can probably come up with several money-saving suggestions.

It may also be worth spending a little to save more. For example, it's worth paying for regular inspection and maintenance of equipment. The costs can be more than covered by improving energy-efficiency, or perhaps by reducing use of raw materials and avoiding breakdowns.

For activities which use a lot of energy or water it may be worth making a more significant investment in reducing waste. For example, the annual running costs of equipment such as electric motors could be as much as ten times higher than the purchase price. You could save money by spending more to buy an energy-efficient model in the first place.

The cost of investments in energy and water-saving technologies often qualifies for capital allowances, which you can use to reduce your tax bill. Find out about equipment that qualifies for favourable tax treatment on the Enhanced Capital Allowances website or see our guide on environmental tax obligations and breaks.

For information on minimising waste, see our guide on how to save money by reducing waste and use of raw materials.

There are several sources of information and advice that can help you to identify and implement potential environmental cost reductions.

• You can find out about saving energy on the Carbon Trust website.
• You can find out about a free waste audit of your business and get environmental advice tailored to small businesses on the Envirowise website.
• You can find out about using biotechnology to improve performance in areas such as effluent and waste treatment on the Bio-wise website.
• See our guide on how to save money by reducing waste and use of raw materials.

Subjects covered in this guide

• Introduction
• Compliance with health, safety and environmental rules
• Avoid the costs of illness, accidents and incidents at work
• Improve your reputation through health, safety and environmental practices
• Introduce environmental cost-reductions
• Health, safety and environmental practices and your insurance costs
• Plan ahead to get health, safety and the environment right

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