The clean tech industry is still failing to demonstrate the cost benefit of going green, according to delegates at the Energy Efficiency Global 2011 forum, surveyed by international technology PR firm Hotwire.

Forty-one percent of delegates interviewed reported that the biggest barrier to the success of the clean tech industry is that the cost saving is perceived to be too weak, while 31 percent stated that the biggest barrier was an inability to measure the business benefit of green technologies. Hotwire says its findings, from a poll of high-level officials from government, business and NGOs, signal that the industry must act now to avoid business sustainability technology falling off of the board room agenda.

The research indicates that adoption of greener practices are currently being driven by legislation, with 27 percent stating this as the foremost reason for uptake of clean technology in business, closely followed by 24 percent who believe that business’ strongest motivation for going green is to bolster their reputation.

When asked which countries were perceived to be leading the global uptake of clean technology, 32 percent stated the USA as their top choice, rating the country far ahead of the rest of the world, with the UK selected by 9 percent, France by 6 percent and Germany by 5 percent.

According to Giles Peddy, director at Hotwire: “The results prove that the adoption of clean tech is currently driven by a feeling of obligation of doing the right thing and complying with the minimum legislative standards. There is clearly still more work to be done to quantify the positive financial impact and business benefits that clean technologies can bring and it is up to the industry itself to improve the understanding and credibility of clean tech solutions.”