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Corporate carbon reduction efforts put at risk by climate scepticism
T
he past year has seen an upsurge in public scepticism about climate change, following the perceived failures of December’s Copenhagen summit and rising concerns about the accuracy of climate science. This is one of several factors that has stalled corporate progress on carbon reduction over the past year, as highlighted in After Copenhagen: Business and climate change, the latest in an annual sustainability research series from the Economist Intelligence Unit. The report was sponsored by the Carbon Trust, Hitachi and IBM, with supporting sponsorship from 1E. This new report shows that the rise
in scepticism is strongly echoed in the business world. More than one-half (52%) of executives agree that conflicting evidence on climate change means the jury is still out on how serious this issue is. Just 31% disagree.
Roughly as many “sceptics” (those who doubt the science on climate change) as “believers” say their companies have implemented energy efficiency initiatives—not surprising given the potential cost benefits to businesses. But far more companies with believers have actually developed new “green” products and services—and more than twice as many have improved the
environmental footprint of existing products and services. “There’s essentially a divide in the marketplace,” says James Watson, the editor of the report. “One group of companies is actively moving further along the carbon journey we outlined, while another group is unsure whether this should be a key focus. This rise in scepticism means a tougher sell when trying to make the case for environmental projects within a business.”
After Copenhagen: Business and climate change is available free of charge at:
www.eiu.com/sponsor/ aftercopenhagen
NEW SERVICE ASSISTS COMPANIES WITH THE CRC
N
power has launched a new service to help
organisations manage compliance with the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC), and benefit from the incentives it offers. CRC Assist offers a full service provision to organisations affected by the CRC. It provides support to help businesses understand the CRC; assists them with the development of an energy management strategy; and manages their participation in the scheme. Dave Lewis, head of business energy services at npower, said: “We believe it’s crucial that organisations understand the CRC and the management strategies they should implement to succeed within it. The scheme has been developed to offer significant incentives for the most successful participants and we
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have developed CRC Assist to ensure organisations are best placed to benefit from these.”
CRC Assist offers support for businesses across the full scope of the CRC legislation and incorporates the following key elements:
1) Understanding the CRC
It’s vital that all of the expected 5,000 full participant organisations, and the additional 15,000 participants who will need to register, understand the scheme and what is required of them. CRC Assist promises to cut through the complexities and help businesses understand their involvement in the scheme.
2) An energy management strategy
As part of CRC Assist, npower will help participants develop energy management strategies. In the longer term, it will also assist them with managing their performance in the CRC’s league table, which will detail
the best and worst performers in terms of emissions reduction. Through effective energy
management, organisations will be able to achieve a higher position on the league table.
3) Managing participation
CRC Assist also offers businesses advice on carbon allowance purchasing, helping to make the ‘cap and trade’ element of the scheme easy. In addition, npower will also support organisations with their records and submissions within the scheme.
The CRC Assist proposal from npower will be specific to the size, scope and strategic objectives of each organisation it works with and is available to all organisations affected by the CRC – whether current, former or prospective customers of npower. For more information visit
www.npower.com/crc
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