The Carbon Trust has launched a series of new carbon footprinting services designed to help firms more easily measure their greenhouse gas emissions.

As part of the new initiative, the organisation is to host a series of free half-day training workshops across the country – starting this month in Bristol, with events following in Manchester, York, Birmingham and London – which will offer businesses an understanding of how to measure their carbon footprint themselves and what steps they can take to reduce it.

The Carbon Trust estimates that UK businesses could reduce their carbon emissions by 2.7m tonnes, equivalent to the total emissions of Liverpool, and save themselves £350m a year through cheap and free energy saving actions alone.

The company also launched an online carbon calculator specifically for businesses that will allow them to input data and calculate their emissions, and updated its free onsite Carbon Survey service for small businesses to include both carbon footprinting and energy saving advice.

Tom Delay, chief executive of the Carbon Trust, said there was no excuse for businesses not to know their carbon footprint. "Acting on CO2 makes perfect business sense," he said. "Businesses that act will quickly reap the multiple benefits of improving their bottom line while increasing their overall competitiveness."

The new services were welcomed by Michael Roberts, director of business environment at the CBI, who said there was a need for such services among the many firms that "lack the knowledge, time or resources to take the first step" to reduce their carbon emissions.