According to figures from the Confederation of British Industry (CBI), over one-third of businesses in London have switched their gas and electricity supplier in the past year.

Companies have decided to take environmentally-friendly steps into their own hands “because it makes good business sense,” according to results from a CBI survey, carried out in conjunction with KPMG.

Being able to reduce gas and electricity bills by switching suppliers and therefore saving money was the best way to encourage firms to save energy. Just under half said that better advice and support was needed and 23 per cent said that more regulation would encourage them to become more environmentally friendly.

In total 36 per cent of businesses decided to do this by changing energy suppliers. One-half updated their equipment or technology, 46 per cent took action through their supply chain and 46 per cent sought advice on how to reduce their emission.

London chairman of KPMG, Richard Reid, said that it was important regulations were not placed on businesses which made them unable to compete in the global marketplace.

The Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs released figures that showed businesses could save £6.4 billion a year by employing simple energy saving measures, such as switching off lights and turning down thermostats.

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The Queen discusses a new Energy Bill during her speech this year, with a new bill that includes over 150 million pounds to help Britons with the cost of fuel.

Low-income people will be helped through a rebate, along with another program designed to help reduce energy bills of around a million customers. Ofgem will also be given greater power to protect users from unfair fuel prices.

Last year, about 4.4 million households were suffering from fuel poverty and over 3 million of those households were in England. Fuel poverty is caused by not enough personal income, rising energy prices and homes that are not energy efficient.

To solve this problem in the long term, more money is needed to make homes more energy efficient and energy companies will need to be closely watched as prices go up.

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