§ Ms. QuinTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what studies his Department has commissioned, or intends to commission, on what proportion of companies in the United Kingdom carry out an environmental audit or publish environmental information in their annual accounts; and if he intends to publish the results of any studies.
§ Mr. Leigh[holding answer 22 November 1990]: The Government encourage companies to use the management technique of environmental audit as part of comprehensive action to assess and improve their environmental performance. The Government also welcome the growth in the number of companies voluntarily publishing more information about their environmental performance. I am aware of a number of reports by commercial and other organisations which include information about environmental auditing and reporting by business. However, my Department has not commissioned—nor are there any plans to commission—a systematic study of the number of companies in the United Kingdom which are using environmental audits or publishing environmental information, for example in their annual report and accounts.