Businesses gear up for environmental legislation

Thursday, 18th March 2010

UK manufacturers are stocking up on carbon emission preventatives as the government prepares its new Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme, enforced on April 1st.

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is a new, mandatory UK energy saving and carbon emissions reduction plan through which organisations with annual electricity bills of approximately one million pounds or more must measure and accurately report their energy usage to government.
 
The CRC will affect approximately 20,000 large non-energy intensive organisations, namely schools, colleges, local authorities, companies and charities, and is expected to achieve an annual saving of 4.4m tonnes of CO2 by 2020.

But, many of the organisations expected to be covered by the CRC are still unaware of their obligations and could be hit with fines of up to £5,000 for failing to register.

There are three main pieces of information that businesses will need to provide:

  • Corporate information and company structure
  • Contact information for key individuals within the organisation
  • Meter and electricity consumption information.

While penalties for non-compliance with the Scheme, include:

  • £5,000 fine for failing to register plus £500 per day, up to a maximum of 80 days
  • £1,000 fine for failing to disclose information to government.

"There's just one month to go until the start of the CRC, which will see large public and private sector organisations cutting emissions as well as saving money on fuel bills,"said Energy and Climate Change Minister, Joan Ruddock. "This is a real opportunity for business and industry to take a leadership role in tackling climate change and gain reputational advantage as a result."

As the scheme prepares to be rolled out, business owners should assess their current energy consumption and adhere to the CRC scheme if needed, as the penalties for failing to do so could over stretch already tight budgets and severely damage corporate reputation.

Back to News

We are here to help

Call 0800 027 5999 or ask a quick question here: