Green Fiscal Commission report aims to make polluters pay

News Article - 17 November 2009
Category: Business

A recent report by leading think tank The Green Fiscal Commission (GFC) has urged the Government to introduce a ground-breaking £150bn green tax programme on businesses and households. The measures proposed include a £3,300 levy on new cars, and the introduction of heavier duties on carbon-intensive activities. If the suggestions are implemented, the proportion of green taxes on the statute books would double to 14%.

The report could shift the Government's tax strategy to encourage investment in low-carbon technology. It's the latest in a number of proposals that advise the Government to take immediate action to curtail the country's spiralling carbon output. With the Copenhagen summit on climate change around the corner, the issue has never been more prominent.

There's also evidence the report has been well received by Parliament. The Tories have also made a series of green election pledges, one of which will provide a £6,500 energy efficiency grant to every household in Britain. Many commentators see this as evidence of a developing Conservative commitment to the green economy.

While we're yet to see whether the report's suggestions will have an effect at a policy-making level, it's clear the green agenda is moving forward once again. And in this increasingly green economy, companies who account for their carbon output may find themselves benefiting from 'eco-taxes' and other rewards. However, the first step is to track your carbon output. In the past, many businesses have been put off by the need to re-key their data into a third party solution, effectively doubling their administration time. Due to the significant addition to company workload, this was often seen as untenable.

Access understands that effective solutions are integrated seamlessly into existing workflows. This is why our accounting for carbon emissions solution does not require data re-keying; it's fully-integrated within Access Dimensions and provides powerful carbon emissions reports without significant administrative overhead. All of this information is available at the touch of a button, and because there's little addition to the accounts functions workload, it doesn't add cost or complexity.

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