The News Green News CBI calls on government to better promote green IT
08 September 2009
The government must improve the research and development (R&D) tax credit scheme to encourage investment in green IT and low-carbon technologies, says the CBI.
The call is one of ten recommendations for government made in the CBI's "Pulling ahead: innovating for low-carbon leadership" report.
Other proposed measures include further policies to support cutting-edge industries that help cut carbon, changes to government procurement to foster take-up of low-carbon technology and accelerating national infrastructure projects in areas like energy generation.
The report also makes three recommendations for companies to follow when it comes to promoting lower CO2 emissions (see below). Electronic document management is obviously a good area to concentrate on.
R&D tax credit schemes give companies tax relief, and can either reduce a company’s tax bill, or in the case of certain small or medium-sized companies, provide a cash sum.
John Cridland, the CBI’s deputy director-general, said, “Britain has great expertise in low-carbon technology and research. This must be encouraged and supported by government, but we also need policies that help to implement advances in technology in practical and commercially-viable ways."
In addition the CBI has put forward three recommendations for business to encourage low-carbon innovation:
- Make carbon part of core business: take steps to measure carbon use and include carbon costs in the bottom line. Clear measurement of carbon use and the reduction potential of innovation can increase uptake and give businesses a head start on competitors.
- Rethink approach to innovation: embrace innovation by focusing on how frontline staff can reduce emissions and fundamentally re-think at a boardroom level the impact of the low-carbon economy on existing and new business processes.
- Enable creative thinking: develop a culture of managed risk taking to aid innovation and create incentives that allow employees to experiment and innovate.
The report can be downloaded from the CBI's home page.
Last Updated (08 September 2009)
