Also at the APSRG debate, the £23 billion Oakdene-Hollins estimates of the benefits of resource efficiency were raised again. (http://randd.defra.gov.uk/Document.aspx?Document=EV0441_10072_FRP.pdf)
These often seem to be used as justification for forcing businesses to do something different, as they are clearly failing to spot money saving opportunities which have instead been grasped by policymakers in Whitehall.
But the report itself recognised that businesses face opportunity costs (referred to in the report as "hidden costs" I think) when implementing resource efficiency measures, in terms of productive investment opportunities foregone. These were not estimated in the report, due to methodological difficulties, but could significantly reduce the actual net benefits realisable to firms.
My personal starting point for an estimate of these hidden costs would be £23 billion. I am sceptical of the superior ability of civil servants to identify savings to businesses and think that if there were significant savings to be found, then they would be realised long before being spotted by bureaucrats.
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