During times of recession, companies are much more likely to care about their margins than they are about green or legislative measures. This is according to a recent poll conducted by energy consultants M&C Energy Group.

The poll showed that 45% of participants thought the cost of energy would be the most important energy-related influence on their organisation in 2012, compared to just 15% who thought carbon reduction would be at the top of the agenda.

Andy Dewis, a Carbon Management expert from M&C Energy Group said: “This just shows that in times of economic difficulty people are more interested in either making or saving their company money to keep their job… The ‘softer’ considerations of running a cleaner and greener operation often fall behind in priority.”