Business secretary John Hutton has called on manufacturers in the UK to take advantage of emerging markets in the green economy.
As part of the government’s renewed manufacturing Hutton said manufacturers should ‘respond positively to new opportunities’, such as renewable energy and low-carbon technology.
“UK manufacturing has a crucial role to play in helping us accelerate to a low carbon economy,” said Hutton.
“In the UK, thousands of new green collar jobs could be created by the potential in wind power alone - from around 8,000 now to more than 27,000 in 2020.”
Hutton said the government’s ‘refreshed’ manufacturing strategy was doing all it could to assist manufacturers to compete globally and take advantage of new green markets.
However, a recent survey by accountancy software firm Sage found that only 12% of small business owners believe the government is doing all it can to ensure companies are as environmentally friendly as possible.
Over half of respondents said they would like the government to do more to raise awareness of the benefits of green business practices.
Nearly 80% also said they would like to see more green tax incentives and 75% wanted more easy-to-implement environmentally friendly measures.
© Crimson Business Ltd. 2007
