Bill Parker of Symmetry Sustainable Business said that that's why most small businesses avoid pursuing environmentally friendly practices because they don't think they are within their budget.

``But they don't realise that they can do some simple things that will help the environment and actually save them money in the long run,'' Mr Parker said.

``Through Symmetry I help businesses that have 20 employees or less to pick up some really simple hints on how to lower their operating costs.

``I go in and do an assessment of how they operate and then make some suggestions about how they could be more environmentally sustainable.

``For example, a simple thing that every business can do is start up double-sided printing. Usually this only requires a minor adjustment to their printers and they can print on both sides of the page, saving themselves thousands of dollars in paper costs, with just a few minutes work.''

The AusIndustry sponsored program, which is now provided through the Liverpool office of the Macarthur Business Enterprise Centre, is run with a $50 nominal fee for businesses, but Mr Parker said it is worth thousands.

Mr Parker's first client has been JEM Promotions, a marketing company which develops and produces merchandise.

Owner John Cabra said that he and his team have always been environmentally conscious.

``That's part of our focus here, to make goods out of recycled materials and pursue more sustainable ways of doing things,'' Mr Cabral said.

``Before Bill came in we had a separate copier, printer and fax. He told us to purchase a machine that does all three it's a lot more energy efficient.''

Details: makeitinmacarthur.com.au/symmetry .