Sir - I agree with Daniel Scharf of For Climate in Business (Letters, October 26) that businesses have a long way to go before they can be said to be taking the reduction of their carbon footprint seriously.

The big stores, especially supermarkets, are particularly at fault. They insist on keeping all their lights on throughout the night long after the shops have closed.

I wrote to the chairman of one offending company which, despite proclaiming its green credentials, kept its lights ablaze all night. His reply was that it was a health and safety issue because they sometimes had deliveries at night. This seems a poor excuse when movement detectors can be installed which switch on the lights only when necessary.

Ann Spokes Symonds, Oxford