Energy laws could hit small business

1:59pm Tuesday 1st July 2008

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Small businesses could be crippled by fines because they are ignorant of new energy legislation, it has been claimed.

According to Burgess Hill-based energy TEAM, more than half of firms in Sussex are unaware that the Government's energy performance certificate (EPC) scheme will apply to smaller businesses from today.

An EPC displays the basic energy performance of a building and must be presented when businesses build, sell, lease, or modify an affected premises.

The legislation already applies to buildings of more than 10,000sqm and today it comes into force for every building with a space of more than 2,500sqm.

From October it will apply to every building across the country.

Businesses that fail to produce an EPC can be fined £5,000, which could be disastrous for those firms already struggling with the economic slowdown.

Brian Rickerby, joint managing director of energyTEAM, said: "Despite growing general awareness of rising energy costs, there still is a concerning ignorance of energy legislation among businesses.

"With about 95% of British businesses falling into the small to medium-sized category, a £5,000 fine could prove a crushing cost for the UK economy.

"It is imperative, now more than ever given the situation in the economy, that business leaders ensure they do not risk extra costs in the form of fines.

"To do this, if they are planning to build, sell, lease, or modify any building they must book an accredited energy assessor to come and assess their site for an EPC without delay."

Mark Froud, chief executive of Sussex Enterprise, the county's chamber of commerce, believes the Government should do more to raise awareness of energy legislation.

He said: "Clearly there is a lot more scope for the Government to communicate more effectively to businesses if it expects them to comply with legislation such as EPCs.

"There's no denying that climate change and environmental issues are having a significant impact on us all.

"However, the Government should be encouraging companies to tackle these challenges in a positive way rather than inflicting these huge fines for non-compliance on small firms that can't afford to pay them."

Research by Sussex Enterprise revealed that two thirds of businesses said they have installed energy efficient measures or changed their behaviour to cut carbon emissions.

Mr Froud added: "Obviously this shows that business is willing to alter its practices to conserve energy.

"While EPCs should be an effective way of reducing the Britain's energy consumption, small businesses that are already suffering under piles of red tape will find it difficult to respond positively if they aren't aware of their responsibilities."