With a sagging global economy and the looming spectre of global warming (yes, despite the snow), what could be better than taking steps to cut both energy costs and carbon emissions?

That’s the goal of the Carbon Trust’s new “One Million a Day” campaign, which aims to encourage UK businesses to act immediately to reduce their energy expenses enough to save £1 million a day nationwide. The initiative is being backed by a £35 million Carbon Trust fund that provides business owners with unsecured, interest-free loans of £5,000 to £200,000 for upgrading or replacing equipment for better energy efficiency.

“We want to take £1 billion off the energy bills of UK PLC over the next three years by saving at least £1m a day through cutting carbon emissions,” said Tom Delay, Chief Executive of the Carbon Trust. “All businesses — whether big or small — should realise easy cost savings by taking sensible energy efficiency measures. Every business should be asking how much cash their company can save by cutting carbon.”

Added Ed Miliband,Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, “We are no longer choosing between what’s good for business and what’s good for the environment. By taking action now to reduce energy use and cut carbon from our goods and services, British business has the opportunity to not only save money and create jobs, but set us on the path to becoming an innovative low carbon economy.”

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