Green office refurbishment 'could create 50,000 jobs'

Office design news from Morgan Lovell

Published on 25-02-2009

The uptake of green office refurbishment plans by UK businesses could create between 30,000 and 50,000 jobs, prime minister Gordon Brown has claimed.

Mr Brown urged firms to invest in a sustainable future by improving the energy efficiency of their offices.

He stated that refurbishing office buildings to a higher environmental standard could save businesses up to £700 million each year and would go a long way in helping the UK meet its commitments to cut carbon emissions.

Alan Whitehead, chair of the parliamentary renewable and sustainable energy group, told the Financial Times: "If the government's emissions reduction targets are going to be met, then energy efficiency has to be the place to start. [There is] huge scope for emissions savings."

And in related news, Dr Neil Bentley, the business environment director of the Confederation of British Industry, recently commented that due to the recession companies are now looking at ways to reduce costs.

He urged firms to invest in green office fit-outs as a way of saving money in the long term, as well as helping to reduce the UK's CO2 output.