UK Business Spent £3.1bn On Environmental Protection

The total spend of UK businesses on environmental protection in 2012 was estimated to have been £3,159m according to data from Defra. Operational expenditure accounted for the majority of the expenditure with £2,492m followed by capital expenditure with £517m and research and development with £150m. The aim of environmental protection expenditure is to reduce environmental pollution during operations.

The main industries involved in the expenditure were energy production and distribution with 18% and food and drink with 13%. Spending per employee was highest in the water supply and treatment industry and also in energy production and distribution.

Production Output Up By 0.7%

Production increased by 0.7% between Q4 2013 and Q1 2014 according to statistics from the ONS. The largest contribution to the growth in production came from manufacturing which increased by 1.4%.

Over the year between March 2013 and March 2014 output increased by 2.3%. The main contributors to the growth were manufacturing 3.3%, water supply, sewerage and waste management 12.1% and mining and quarrying with 3.1%.

Between February 2014 and March 2014 production output decreased by 0.1% with decreases in two of the main sectors: mining and quarrying with a decrease of 2.8% and water supply, sewerage and waste management with 2.1%.

Manufacturing and the production of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning increased by 0.5% over the month between February and March 2014 whereas the production of electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning was the only sector to report a decrease over the year from March to March.

Manufacturing Leads Growth In Production

Manufacturing made by far the biggest contribution to the overall production output increase of 0.5% with growth of 0.7% between Q3 and Q4 2013 according to data from the ONS.

The annual comparison shows that production output was 1.8% higher in December 2013 than in December 2012. When this is broken down into industry sectors manufacturing rose by 1.5%, mining and quarrying by 2.6% and water services by 7.9%. These rises were offset by a fall of 3% in electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning.

Between November 2013 and December 2013 production rose by 0.4% and manufacturing by 0.3%. The manufacture of basic pharmaceuticals and pharmaceutical preparations, coke and refined petroleum products and the manufacture of food products, beverages and tobacco were mainly responsible for the rise.

The figures are seasonally adjusted.

Industrial Output Increase Over Quarter

Industrial production output increased by 0.6% between Q2 and Q3 2013 according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. The largest contribution to the overall figure came from manufacturing with an increase of 0.9% similar to that in Q2 2013.

Over the year production was 2.2% up in September 2013. The contribution of mining and quarrying was an increase in output of 11.5%, manufacturing a rise of 0.8%, a rise in water supply, sewerage and waste management of 7.1%. Electricity, gas, steam and air output fell by 3.4%.

The monthly comparison shows that production and manufacturing increased their output by 0.9% and 1.2% respectively between August and September 2013.

Fall In Production Of 2.3%

Production output fell by 2.3% between May 2012 and May 2013 according to a statistical bulletin from the ONS. Three of he main components of the index fell only water supply, sewerage and waste management grew, by 2.6%. Manufacturing fell by 2.9%, mining and quarrying by 3.5%. The monthly comparison shows that production remained stable between April and May. Manufacturing fell by 0.8%.

Manufacturing Down 2.1% Production By 2.4%

The index of production published by the ONS shows that production was down by 2.4% in November 2012 compared with November 2011. Manufacturing was down by 2.1%.

The monthly analysis shows that production actually rose by 0.3% during the month October to November 2012. Large increases in production in mining and quarrying (8.7%) were offset by falls in manufacturing (0.3%) and energy supply (4.1%).

The annual analysis for November 2012 and November 2011 also shows that mining and quarrying fell by 13% within which oil and gas extraction decreased by 17.8% contributing 13.4% to the sector fall. Manufacturing fell 2.1% over the year with food manufacturing, beverages and tobacco contributing a fall of 4.6% and chemicals and chemical products 6.8%. Energy supply increased by 4.4% and water supply and waste management increased by 2.4%.