Many small businesses in the UK have no idea what measures they can take to reduce their energy consumption, a new study shows.

Research from British Gas Business found that 71 per cent of small firms in the UK think that there is little they can do reduce their energy consumption, despite the fact that 79 per cent agree that it should be a priority.

Indeed, energy consumption represents nearly ten per cent of the average small firm's overheads and government figures show that £12 billion worth of energy is wasted in the UK every year.

"Just over half (56 per cent) recognised they needed help to make their business more energy efficient but one third (32 per cent) admitted that they lacked the relevant information," explained Adrian Harvey, commercial director of British Gas Business.

A recent report from the Green Technology Initiative found that 90 per cent of businesses in the UK thought that it was important for them to reduce emissions from their IT systems.

However, just 30 per cent had plans in place to obtain technology that would help them achieve this goal.

According to recent survey by Connect, the two biggest IT headaches for businesses were 'everyday hassles with IT' (37 per cent) and 'security concerns' (32 per cent).