Being green doesn’t have to cost the earth. In fact, according to our employer survey, companies are reaping the financial benefits of their environmental endeavours. Building firm Carillion is a case in point. Last year staff spent 34,144 hours talking to people through video, web and teleconferencing, avoiding the costs, time and stress of travelling.

Skanska UK, another construction firm, also recently trialled a video conferencing unit at a remote site in Cumbria and found that the money saved on travelling covered the £10,000 cost within six months. As a result, the company invested in 29 video conferencing units.

“Being green isn’t necessarily going to cost you anything. Actually in most cases you end up saving money,” says Jennifer Clark, head of sustainability for civil engineering at Skanska. “As far as video conferencing goes, in the long run it paid for itself when you take into account the cost of petrol, potential hotel prices and work time wasted driving.”

The National Magazine Company has also benefited from going green. The introduction of more efficient boilers saves £21,500 a year, with £30,000 more coming from replacing paper towels with hand dryers.

Ken Smith, director of environmental management for consultants Bureau Veritas, agrees the green innovations shown by many firms making our 50 Best Green Companies list often have a financial dividend too.

“It’s a dual win for many organisations,” says Smith. “With the rise in energy prices, companies are seeing a 60% increase in their basic operating costs. So, they can save considerable sums by reducing their use of these resources.”

Advertising company Clear Channel Outdoor UK saves £100,000 on fuel and £30,000 on vehicle lease every year, thanks to its “green” company cars. Most of its fleet runs on liquefied petroleum gas or electricity. Average annual mileage has been cut from 20,000 to 16,500 through careful route planning, reducing Clear Channel’s carbon emissions by 74 tons a year.

“Saving money, saving resources and an increased understanding by organisations of the wider carbon footprint issue are the key findings from this survey,” says Smith. “And companies know that all three are inter-related.”