Energy saving from the business community will not just benefit the environment, but will also aid the UK's economic recovery, the British Chambers of Commerce (BCC) has said.

Interest-free loans of between £3,000 and £500,000 are being offered by the Carbon Trust to small and medium-sized enterprises in a bid to reduce their emissions and make themselves more efficient.

The trust is set to launch a campaign on February 12th 2010 to raise awareness of its loans to finance energy saving in the workplace.

Ahead of the initiative, the BCC's director general David Frost said that replacing old and inefficient equipment can improve productivity by between 20 and 30 per cent.

"We want to help businesses improve their performance and in many cases putting in new, energy-efficient equipment can do this," he told thisismoney.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, more than three-quarters of consumers have said they are motivated to reduce their carbon footprint by the thought of cheaper fuel bills.