LONDON, September 23 /PRNewswire/ --

- "Green is the New Mean", Says 51-Point Green Blueprint

Businesses were today given a blueprint for cutting costs by going green - and told that "green is the new mean". The 51-point plan is published the same week as a study showing that businesses that become greener can boost their value by up to 80%.

The e-Book You Can't Afford NOT To Be Green - 51 Ways Your Business Can Save Money AND The Planet (http://www.yudu.com/greenlibrary) is published by YUDU Media (http://www.yudu.com), whose website lets anyone publish, share, buy and sell e-Books and other digital documents.

The 51 ways suggested for businesses to go greener range from encouraging lift-sharing to harnessing tax-breaks, solar-charging cell-phones and greening both your heating and air-conditioning; and from banning water-coolers and plastic cups, to sharing computers and switching them off when they're not in use.

The e-Book's launch comes the same week as that of a major study showing that businesses that become greener can raise their value by up to 80% - and those that don't, can put it at serious risk. The study is based on research by McKinsey's and published by the Carbon Trust, a body set up by the UK Government to help foster a lower-carbon economy.

"In tough economic times, individual consumers might regard the green option as a luxury," said Richard Stephenson, YUDU CEO. "For businesses, however, the opposite is true. In tough times, going green is one of the best ways to save money. Green is the new mean."

Most businesses, said Richardson, would love to be greener, and to cut costs, but don't realise you can do both at once, let alone how best to do so. YUDU's 51-point plan, compiled by journalist Mike Haskins, gives a step-by-step guide.

Businesses collectively waste many millions each day just through poor energy efficiency. Relatively simple measures - most of them detailed in this volume - would help fix this.

YUDU itself saves businesses large sums in print, paper and postage by moving their publications online and simultaneously cuts their CO2 emissions by ensuring that every YUDU publication is carbon neutral - allowing YUDU to call itself "the planet's favourite publisher". Indeed, online publication of the new book has itself saved both thousands on print and paper.

Examples of how businesses can save money and help the planet highlighted in the e-Book include:

- Putting PCs and monitors automatically on sleep, by using the PC's power-management settings can bring annual energy savings of $100-$200 per PC. - Cutting electricity bill by up to 15% by switching off unneeded lights, with automatic timers, detectors and switches - Solar-charging cell-hones, satnav units, PDAs and other hand-held devices. - Harnessing the many tax breaks available to businesses that use greener and more energy-efficient products. - Avoiding the print, paper and postage costs of traditional publishing by switching to the new generation of digital brochures, catalogues and leaflets.

The free e-Book can be read at:

http://www.yudu.com/greenbookus (North American edition)

http://www.yudu.com/greenbook (UK edition)

Notes to Editors:

The 51-Point Green Blueprint In Full:

1 Use Digital Publishing To Save On Print, Paper, Postage 2 Green Your Company Car Fleet 3 Cycle to Work - And Help Your Staff To Do Likewise 4 Encourage Ride-Sharing 5 Ditch Paper And Go Digital 6 Print Less From Your Computer 7 Outsource Your Mail-Room, Using a Mail-Handling Service 8 Use Remanufactured Printer Ink and Toner Cartridges 9 Use Recycled Paper and Stationery 10 Recycle Your Paper 11 Don't Use So Much Paper In The First Place 12 Recycle Your Computers 13 Make Money Recycling Old Mobile Phones 14 See Recycling As A Business Opportunity 15 Improve Your Energy Efficiency 16 Monitor Your Electric Use 17 Don't Leave Things on Standby 18 Use Energy-Saving Light Bulbs 19 Remember to Switch Off the Lights 20 Ban Plastic Cups 21 Get Rid of That Water Cooler 22 Ban Plastic Shopping Bags 23 Improve Your Image And Get Accreditation 24 Insulate Your Office 25 Switch To A Green Electricity Provider 26 Get Free Electricity From the Air 27 Get Free Electricity From the Sun 28 Green Your Central Heating: Biomass Burning Boilers 29 Green Your Central Heating: Solar Thermal Panels 30 Install a Ground-Source Heat Pump 31 Install an Air-Source Heat Pump 32 Harness Mobile Solar Power 33 Build Green From the Ground Up 34 Don't Flush Money Away: Toilets 35 Green Your Plumbing 36 Grab Some Tax Relief 37 Switch Off Your Air-conditioning 38 ...Or At Least, Green Your Aircon 39 Use Video Conferencing Instead of Flying or Driving There 40 Take the Train, Not The Plane 41 Use Sea Freight Instead of Air 42 Encourage Green Eating 43 Use Cycle Couriers 44 Bulk Buy - By Ordering Less Often 45 Bulk Buy - By Joining A Buying Club 45 Green Your Products 47 Prepare For Peak Oil - With "Oil Vulnerability Auditing" 48 Green Your IT 49 Green Your Website - Run It On Solar Power 50 Share Your PCs 51 Implement Information Management Systems

- ABOUT YUDU'S "GO GREEN!" INITIATIVE

YUDU has launched a Go Green! Initiative, offsetting all its CO2 emissions with Carbon Clear - http://www.carbon-clear.com - a leading carbon management company. Carbon Clear invests in projects that improve living standards in developing countries, while providing global climate benefits with clean energy projects and reforestation initiatives.

* About YUDU.COM and YUDU LTD

YUDU (http://www.yudu.com) is a free ePublishing tool, marketplace and library, which lets you: publish online for free; buy, sell, share or view ePublications; and keep all your digital creations in one place: your personal YUDU library. YUDU lets you publish multimedia digital brochures, magazines, catalogues and books, plus photos, music and podcasts, and add them to your personal YUDU library - for sharing, selling or just your own reference. YUDU is an ePublishing website and marketplace that brings creators and their audiences together.

YUDU Media, the owner of www.yudu.com is already a multiple award-winning digital publisher of online and multi-media brochures, catalogues, magazines and newspapers. It recently helped launch the digital edition of Metro, the UK's leading free newspaper. YUDU, based in London, Lancashire and Boston, won five business awards in a space of five months earlier this year.

Yudu (http://www.yudu.com) provides a free self-publishing-on-demand service to complement the professional provided by YUDU Publishing Pro (http://www.yudu.com/pro/). The new Yudu.com targets small businesses, consumers and "pro-sumers" (or producers who are also consumers).

For further info:

YUDU

yuduquery@yudu.com / Tel:+44(0)870-760-9258

Alexander PR

Jillian Alexander jillian@jalexanderpr.co.uk / +44-(0)7949-602484 or susan@bestpr.net

For further info: YUDU, yuduquery@yudu.com / Tel:+44(0)870-760-9258. Alexander PR, Jillian Alexander jillian@jalexanderpr.co.uk / +44(0)7949 602484 or susan@bestpr.net