About the Carbon Tax
The Carbon Tax was passed on November 8, 2011. The idea is that polluters will pay per tonne of carbon they release into the atmosphere. This cost will initially be set at $23, and increase gradually until 2015, when we will shift to a trading scheme that will let the market set the cost. This is widely thought of as the most effective and least costly mechanism to reduce carbon output and reduce the level of climate change that is occurring (Carbon Tax Facts).
How will you be affected?
While small to medium businesses will not be required to pay a carbon price, there is expected to be an indirect impact on this sector of the economy. Cost pressures will be passed down through the supply chain, which will result in higher operating costs.
It is important for businesses to decrease expenses in other areas of the business to level out costs from this indirect impact.
How can you save?
By implementing sustainable practices businesses can significantly reduce their costs. Decreasing energy usage, reducing office consumables, paper usage and investing in renewable energy can result in significant cost savings like you'd never imagine.
This doesn't just mean turning the lights off or shutting down computers. Although these activities do make a difference there are hundreds of other activities that a business can do to reduce costs and save money. A Brisbane legal firm saved 38% on their energy use in just 6 months from implementing our program.
Businesses that don't implement sustainable practices are the ones that will suffer the most. Their current costs will remain up, and they will face increasing costs passed on by their supply chain.
With less than one year to implement these practices, our advice is to start sooner rather than later.
