I’ve always associated the concept of being green with saving the planet not saving money until I came across the recent employer survey revealing the financial benefits Best Green Companies in UK get from their environmental endeavours. For me the figures are a great proof of any fact. Seriously. The above figures rock.

Video, Web and Teleconferencing

It’s amazing how high-tech works not only for saving funds but also for saving the earth we live on. Skanska UK, well-known construction firm, arranged a video conferencing unit at a remote site in Cumbria, as a result the money saved on traveling covered the ?10,000 cost within six months. Last year employees of building firm Carillion spent 34,144 hours talking to people through video, web and teleconferencing without any the costs, time and stress of traveling.

Paper Towels vs. Hand Dryers

The National Magazine Company saves ?30,000 by replacing paper towels with hand dryers and ?21,500 by the introduction of more efficient boilers.

“Green” Cars

Clear Channel Outdoor UK, which is an advertising company, saves ?100,000 on fuel and ?30,000 on vehicle lease every year. How? The thing is, all employees use “green” (run on liquefied petroleum gas or electricity) company cars. As a result average annual mileage has been cut from 20,000 to 16,500 through careful route planning, reducing Clear Channel’s carbon emissions by 74 tons a year.

So there is no single doubt that being green is both about saving planet and saving money which is great. Seriously.

Image credit: 2005/10/05 - Green Electric Vehicle