PUBS and brewing group Greene King was the venue yesterday for the East of England launch of a campaign by the Carbon Trust to encourage the region’s business to cut their emissions ? and their fuel bills.

The Carbon Trust’s “Best Advice” campaign is a drive to persuade British businesses to stop wasting an estimated �3billion of energy every year, with savings of �92million said to be possible in East Anglia alone.

According to research carried out for the trust, a not-for-profit company with a mission to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy, rising energy prices are currently the second-biggest concern for businesses in East Anglia after the state of the economy.However, while nearly half the businesses surveyed (46%) said reducing their energy use was among their top three objectives, nearly one in 10 (7%) admitted that nobody within their organisation was responsible for managing energy consumption.

The trust’s Best Advice campaign was launched in East Anglia yesterday by Justin Adams, managing director of the Greene King Brewing Company.

He said: “Greene King has been working with the Carbon Trust since 2006. When we were asked to join in this campaign we were delighted to do so as we have found our partnership with the trust very productive.”

Mr Adams urged businesses to take a Carbon Survey from the trust, which he said was “the best advice any business will get this year.”

Since undergoing its first such survey, Greene King has introduced a range of energy-saving measures across its business which, in the past two years, have cut its CO2 emissions by 15,000 tonnes, or 9%.

Monitoring of energy use across the company’s 900-plus sites revealed examples of items such as lights, coffee machines and gaming machines in its pubs either being left on all night or switched on unnecessarily early before opening time.

Within the brewing business in Bury, extensive savings have been achieved through investment in heat-exchange equipment to recycle heat produced as part of the brewing process and in a more energy-efficient refrigeration system where cooling is required.

Myles McCarthy, head of consultant relationships at the Carbon Trust, said that while the campaign was partly about encouraging investment in new equipment, it also aimed to highlight the importance of engaging staff in the objective of reducing emissions.

Mr Adams agreed, adding: “Wastage is often about the smalller things people do day-to-day rather than ‘big ticket’ items. They all add up, but they are relatively easy to solve if you get people engaged.”

Businesses spending �50,000 or more a year on energy can visit www.thebestadvice.co.uk or dial 01865 885788 for more information on how to achieve savings.

Those spending less than �50,000 can access free expert advice via a new Cut Carbon, Cut Costs online tutorial at www.carbontrust.co.uk/onlinetraining.