DORSET businesses fear government regulation to reduce carbon emissions will make them uncompetitive and add more cost than benefits.

Partner at Cowling and West Simon West said: "The new BRE Environmental Assessment Method (Breeam) standard has been produced for environmentally efficient buildings. Basically it is a standard that the government wants to achieve for all non-domestic buildings to become carbon neutral by 2019. All government departments are aspiring to reach the top standard - Breeam excellent. In reality it's difficult to achieve. For instance, Breeam standard buildings require no cars to be used by staff.

"My view is that it's absolute nonsense. In this country we go from one extreme to another. There's a huge cost involved and it'll un-doubtedly make the UK uncompetitive. It's potentially very damaging.

Research by npower business indicates that many firms are apprehensive about the government targets. These findings come at a time when new measures announced in the Budget are encouraging businesses to improve environmental performance, including plans to make commercial buildings carbon neutral; changes to carbon taxation and moves to improve energy efficiency.

The fifth npower Bus-iness Energy Index (nBEI 5) canvassed senior managers and energy buyers at small to medium enterprises (SMEs) and large industrial and commercial firms on attitudes to energy use, costs and CO2 emissions, revealing the unease within the business community about the existing CO2 reduction framework of regulation.

When questioned about the new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) 71 per cent of intensive energy users said they believed that the scheme would make the UK uncompetitive.

Chief executive of Dorset Business the Chamber of Commerce, Peter Scott, said: "The business community bears the full brunt of the impact of government regulations and committing on our behalf - largely unconsulted - to reduce carbon emissions is nothing more than yet another financial burden on business. While I applaud global initiatives to address climate change, I remain unconvinced that the scientific evidence is sufficiently robust to justify making UK plc the scapegoat. This is not about a geographical minnow making gallant leadership gestures at a time of global crisis, it is about scale, and frankly let the big polluters get their act together before we in the UK and here in Dorset have yet another burden shovelled on top of us."

Simon West concluded: "The Environment Agency is currently looking for a building and what's amusing is that they only want to pay a competitive rent but want Breeam standard. This of course is ridiculous because if they're not prepared to pay they're effectively looking at an environmentally unfriendly building!"