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Government incentives needed for green investment, according to survey

According to a new global survey by workspace solutions provider Regus, 68% of Canadian companies believe that government tax breaks are required to accelerate adoption of green investment.

In Canada, the Regus survey also found that:

·         9% of companies monitor their carbon footprint (the lowest percentage globally)

·         24% had a corporate policy to invest in energy-efficient equipment

·         Operating costs were found to be important to 32% of companies that declared they would only invest in low-carbon equipment if it were cheaper or the same to run as conventional equipment

·         68% of companies stated that if the government offered tax incentives to invest in energy efficient or low-carbon equipment, businesses would significantly accelerate their green investments

The survey found differences globally between small and large companies, with small companies less likely to make green investments, e.g. low-carbon equipment. The survey also analyzed sector differences.

“Adoption of green equipment and monitoring initiatives is still disappointingly low, particularly for smaller companies,” said Wes Lenci, regional vice president of Regus Canada. “Yet small and medium-sized companies account for half of any country's business makeup with reports indicating that as a result of the Harper government failing to keep pace with renewable energy investments made by the Obama administration, Canada is losing out on approximately 66,000 jobs. If the government is serious about meeting ambitious carbon emission reduction targets by mid-century, then it needs to further incentivize the change.”

For more information, visit www.regus.co.uk.

June 5, 2010  By Newswire