Most say they're taking the subject of climate change seriously, even though many are not fully aware of the legislative requirements they are bound by.

That's according to the SME (small and medium sized enterprises) Climate Change Survey, which was carried out to coincide with the Recycling and Waste Management Exhibition (RWM 07) at Birmingham's NEC.

The findings also revealed that while firms had good intentions, small firms employing between ten and 49 people had the most to do when tackling climate change.

A RWM 07 spokesmans said:

"Among the more frequently-mentioned reasons for not having a plan to reduce carbon emissions are that SMEs regard it as irrelevant to their business strategy (34%) and just as worryingly because of a lack of information and understanding on their part (28%).

"Clearly, companies of all sizes need to be better informed about carbon emissions and about the benefits to them and the country of having a sound policy in this area."