£60m saved by SMEs going 'green'

Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) have saved close to £60 million a year by complying with green legislation, a study has revealed.

Despite this, a government survey by netregs.gov.uk discovered more than 50% of small businesses still think going "green" will be too expensive.

To add to this, SMEs are racking up £2.5 million in fines every year by refusing to comply with the UK's environmental laws.

Head of external programmes at the Environment Agency, Martin Brocklehurst, said that the results of the study put lie to the theory that complying with environmental measures had negative financial implications.

He said: "We know small and medium-sized businesses struggle to keep on top of environmental regulations, but in such a challenging financial climate it is more important than ever that they take advantage of the potential savings of going green."

Taxpayers are reminded that their self-assessment tax return must be filed with HM Revenue and Customs by 31 January next year at the latest.