So going green is costing entrepreneurs £3.1b? We thought this news deserved a closer look. The finding comes from the entrepreneur think tank, the Tenon Forum. Who? Perhaps not well known for their green street cred, it turns out they have a few green ideas (green tax credits) while running annual surveys of green attitudes among SME MDs. Much as we dug, we are still none the wiser as to the definition of "entrepreneur" and where all that £3b actually went. (Funny how a whole load of old rags published the story uncritically word for word straight from the press release. Never mind.)

Anyway back to the story. They say these costs are dampening business enthusiasm for going green. With 42% of UK SMEs failing to implement any environmental measures to date and 19% with no future plans to do so, it sounds like a sorry state of affairs. Doesn't cost them anything then?

Why not? Well recycling and improving energy-efficiency are not worthwhile for a quarter of UK SMEs - cost benefit wise. Owner-managers are sceptical of Government efforts to drive green business behaviour. With 45% saying that the UK tax regime should be used to encourage green practices among business, you have to wonder is it the same half that cannot be bothered (cost benefit wise. ie).

Those who can be bothered think green initiatives enhance their reputation - a fifth saying their business has a competitive edge over those who don't have any green credentials. This theory suggests green business is good business. So why don't more non-green businesses go to the wall? Well the answer to that is that in the ecology of business, as in many other walks of life, there is plenty room for bad business.

But getting down to brass tacks, the nub of it for Tenon is that thousands of pounds worth of green taxes are stretching SMEs to their limit (the whiners are not those who believe the competitive edge theory, right?); Government is advocating green business practice vigorously (really? we increasingly think it speaks with forked tongue.); so it's crucial the Government find ways of making this all easier (aha, the tax credits again). Entrepreneurs need the Government to motivate and reward best environmental practices so that green behaviour also makes a genuine difference to their bottom line. Actually on this point we kind of agree. Devising incentives is easy, what is not - and recognised by Tenon - is that for every incentive there is is a perverse or unintended consequence.

Thanks to NY Times for the polaroid