Survey Reveals Rising Energy Costs, Need for Improved Efficiency

Nov 27, 2007

Rising energy prices were the source of the “biggest cost increase” small and mid-sized businesses faced over the last two years, surpassing increases related to payroll, office equipment, rent, and health care, according to an international IBM survey of small and mid-sized firms released this month. Small businesses in the United States ranked rising energy and health care prices equally as their largest sources of increased costs over the last two years.

The phone survey, conducted in October, reached approximately 1,400 businesses with between 50 and 500 employees in the U.S., Australia, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, Germany, India, Luxemburg, and the Netherlands.

Nearly 60 percent of the small and mid-sized firms surveyed also reported that their businesses were “concerned about the environment.” Slightly more than 50 percent of the international firms surveyed revealed that this concern for the environment had impacted their companies’ energy decisions. Just less than 40 percent of American small and mid-sized businesses reported that their concern for the environment had impacted their decisions about energy usage.

For more on the survey, please click here.

NSBA, the first national small business group to issue the ENERGY STAR Challenge to our members, urges its small-business members to recognize the environmental benefits and cost-saving opportunities presented by increased energy efficiency. To learn more about these simple and cost-effective opportunities, please read more about NSBA’s ENERGY STAR Challenge.

According to the ENERGY STAR Small Business program, energy efficiency improvements of 10-to-30 percent are economically viable for many small businesses through the implementation of "best practices" for facility operation and maintenance, and the use of cost-effective technologies.

Click here to sign-up for the NSBA Energy Challenge

Click here for additional resources on energy efficiency.