Nine out of 10 firms not registered for CRC

News Article - 09 July 2010
Category: Environment

Fewer than 10% of firms and public sector organisations legally required to sign up to the Government's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) have registered with the Environment Agency. Experts warn there is now a serious chance of missing the legally binding September deadline.

In a report released by the Environment Agency in late June, only 447 organisations have registered for the scheme, despite 5,000 risking significant fines should they fail to sign up by September. Similarly, only 2,833 of 15,000-20,000 organisations have registered as 'information declarers,' a secondary group for firms that utilise half-hourly electricity meters but fall short of the energy usage requirements required for full participation.

The poor sign-up rate is likely to fuel criticism that the CRC was poorly developed and publicised by the Government, with some organisations unsure to this day whether their own energy usage is sufficient to require participation. Those that must participate but fail to sign up risk an initial fine of £5,000 with additional fines of £500 per day up to a maximum of £45,000. 'Information declarers' risk a fine of £500 for each half-hourly electricity meter they fail to register by the deadline.

Names of organisations failing to comply will also be published publically, and will default automatically to the bottom of an annual league table detailing the overall energy efficiency of participants.

Whilst many companies covered by the scheme are currently compiling the significant amounts of data needed to register, there is now a genuine risk of missing the September deadline. With the summer months usually bringing a fall in internal resources, businesses may struggle to fulfil all compliance regulations in time. 

However, the Environment Agency has downplayed fears and said that experience shows the current level of registrations is in line with previous sign up periods for similar and related schemes. A spokeswoman said the agency expects a significant number of registrations in last part of the sign-up period.

Whilst the CRC currently covers larger companies only, pressure to act on climate change is likely to trickle down to small and medium sized companies over the next few years. With large companies struggling to meet compliance regulations even given vast internal resources, smaller companies must begin preparations far earlier in order to develop the infrastructure necessary to successfully act on climate change.

Without accurate knowledge of the company's carbon footprint, knowing precisely where to cut carbon emissions can be very difficult. Access accounting for carbon emissions software allows firms to focus resources on achieving maximum carbon reduction, which - with regard to the CRC and likely future carbon reduction schemes - can deliver both financial and reputational benefits.

For more information, please call Access on 0845 345 3300.

Article keywords: Carbon accounting, CRC, carbon reduction, green business, accounting software, Access UK, green news

---

More industry news

• Think tank warns UK may have already slipped back into recession
• Growing demand for HR staff in technology and international sectors
• Boosting business growth a ‘priority’ to avoid Eurozone slowdown
• HMRC launches alternative disputes pilot scheme this week
• December employment statistics disregard gloomy recruitment predictions
• Eurozone manufacturing PMI shows modest improvement
• UK scores highly for economic governance by ratings agency
• Government launches two-year project focusing on manufacturing sector
• Burden of regulation on UK businesses ‘too high’

Back to news home page »