What is it?
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is the UK's "cap and trade" scheme, for the largest 5000 organisations in the UK. How will it work?
In July 2009, the Environment Agency sent CRC registration packs to all half-hourly billing points. In April 2010, and every April thereafter, participating organisations will be required to purchase allowances for the carbon that they expect to emit for the following year. This could increase annual energy bills by up to 10%. At the end of each year, the organisations will be ranked according to their emissions performance in the CRC league table, which will be published publicly. Investors, journalists, customers and potential employees will all have access to data, leaving individual performance open to public scrutiny and competitive comparison. Additional sub-tables will display information on any major subsidiaries belonging to organisations, allowing comparisons of not only the umbrella organisations, but also particular brands. Furthermore, companies that perform well will receive a share of the funds accrued from the sale of carbon allowances. This could mean companies essentially paying profits to their better-performing competitors. Am I affected?
Organisations that spend over £500 000 annually on electricity will most likely be affected by the scheme. (The official criteria are having half-hourly electricity metering, and consuming over 6,000 MWh of electricity per annum.) What can I do?See the CRC pages on the DEFRA website for more information on compliance, and the help available to cut your organisation's carbon emissions.
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