The Carbon Trust wants UK businesses to defy the recession by saving at least £1 million a day through cost-effective action on climate change.

The campaign is backed by business groups, leading companies and Dragons’ Den entrepreneur Theo Paphitis, all urging business to immediately prioritise cutting carbon by saving energy to reduce costs. In its “One Million A Day” campaign, it wants businesses of all sizes to kick-start immediate energy savings, reduce carbon emissions and make significant direct costs savings.

SMEs are also being encouraged to take advantage of a £35 million Carbon Trust fund to upgrade or replace existing equipment to more energy-efficient versions using unsecured, interest-free loans from £5,000 to £200,000.

The campaign’s target is to help save the UK economy £1 billion in three years and reduce the UK’s carbon emissions by at least 17 million tonnes of CO2 - the equivalent to annual emissions heating nearly 5.5 million average UK homes.

Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Ed Miliband said: “We are no longer choosing between what’s good for business and what’s good for the environment. By taking action now to reduce energy use and cut carbon from our goods and services, British business has the opportunity to not only save money and create jobs but set us on the path to becoming an innovative low-carbon economy.”

The Carbon Trust has identified energy management, improved lighting and efficient heating for immediate action.Chief executive Tom Delay said: “As UK companies look for strategies to weather the recession it makes business sense to join the Carbon Trust campaign to cut costs by cutting carbon. All businesses – whether big or small – should realise easy cost savings by taking sensible energy-efficiency measures.”

Marks & Spencer chairman Sir Stuart Rose said: “Two years into Plan A – our 100 point eco and ethical plan – we know that a sustainable business can be a profitable business. We are already achieving cost savings as we aim to become carbon neutral by 2012.”