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NEW CARBON TRADING SCHEME TO RANK BIG UK BRANDS ON ENERGY EFFICIENCY

N

ew rules that came into force on 1st April will pitch some of the UK’s largest organisations against each other in a drive to cut carbon dioxide (CO2

) emissions.

For the first time large non-energy intensive organisations, which account for about 10% of UK CO2

emissions,

will be legally bound to closely monitor and report their emissions from energy use in preparation for carbon trading. The scheme will also give people and businesses the opportunity to compare organisations’ efforts to combat climate change for the first time.

emissions by up to 11.6 million tonnes per year by 2020 - the equivalent of taking four million cars off the road. It is also expected to save organisations money through reduced energy bills – benefiting the economy by at least £1billion by 2020. More than 20,000 organisations will have to register with the Environment Agency by the end of September this year. Around 5,000 of these organisations – those that used at least 6,000 Megawatt hours (MWh) of half hourly metered electricity in 2008 – will have to report their emissions and, from 2011, buy allowances for every tonne of CO2 they emit. During the introductory phase in 2011 and 2012, allowances will be sold at a fixed

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SUSTAINABLE FM | APRIL 2010

The Government scheme, known as the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, will include household names such as Sainsbury’s, Tesco, Marks & Spencer, John Lewis, Barclays, HSBC, Hilton and Marriott. It will also include manufacturers and construction companies, for example Procter & Gamble, Unilever and Balfour Beatty. These businesses will be ranked according to reductions in energy use and improvements in energy efficiency alongside public sector organisations such as NHS trusts, local authorities and government departments. Analysis for the Environment Agency suggests that the scheme could reduce CO2

price of £12 per tonne of CO2 All the money raised from

.

allowance sales will be recycled back to participants according to their energy performance. The best performers will get more money back than they paid, while poor performers will get less. From next year, the Environment Agency will publish an annual league table highlighting the best and worst performers in CRC. From 2013 a cap and trade system will be introduced. This will limit the total amount of carbon dioxide these organisations can emit by capping the total number of allowances available and selling them at auction.

A further 15,000 organisations that use less than 6,000MWh, but still have at least one half hourly electricity meter, will be obliged to register and declare their electricity use.

Organisations that qualify for CRC must register for the scheme with the Environment Agency by 30 September 2010. For further information on the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme visit

www.environment-

agency.gov.uk/crc. Organisations affected by CRC can also contact the Environment Agency’s CRC helpdesk at crchelp@environment-

agency.gov.uk

FIRST ORGANISATIONS REGISTER FOR CRC

W

ithin an hour of the registry opening, the scheme had both its first

Information Declarer and Participant. Wall Engineering Company Ltd, a structural steel engineering and fabricating company based in Norfolk, was the first organisation to register for the scheme. The company made an Information Disclosure. Simon Tully, Financial & ICT Director at Wall Engineering said: “Registration itself was swift and simple via the CRC portal on the Environmental Agency website.” Foyle Foods Group Ltd, a meat processing company in Northern Ireland, was the first organisation to register with the Environment Agency as a CRC Participant. They submitted their initial registration data within an hour of the Registry going live. The contact information they provided will now be validated by the Environment Agency. They will then be required to complete

their registration by named contacts approving the data already entered. Eamonn Morgan, Project Officer

for Foyle Foods said: “It is was a total surprise to me that we were the first Participant to start the registration process. Registering was straightforward and the guidance documents provide most of the information I needed. I’ve also spoken to the Environment Agency on several occasions for further advice.”

At midday, just three hours after registration opened, 55 organisations had already registered with the Environment Agency for the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. For more information and to find out if your organisation is eligible for CRC visit www.environment-

agency.gov.uk/crc

Organisations can also contact the Environment Agency directly on

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