Swindon’s large employers will need to register for the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment – or face being fined
Some of Swindon’s leading employers need to make urgent preparations for the introduction of a sweeping new mandatory carbon emissions trading scheme next year, according to a leading property expert.
The Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is aimed at reducing consumption among companies that use energy worth around £1 million a year.
Companies that register for the scheme, which becomes law on 1st April, will have to:
• provide information on the organisation and its main subsidiaries
• identify individuals responsible for meeting the commitment
• provide a list of their organisation’s electricity meters
• detail the electricity used in the 2008 calendar year
At the start of a compliance year, which runs from 1st April to 31st March 2010, companies in the scheme will have to buy allowances for the energy they expect to use over the next 12 months.
But Giles Weir, a senior associate at leading international property consultants King Sturge, says most businesses remain unaware how the scheme will affect them – and has warned that the onus is on them to register, or else risk a fine.
“The Carbon Reduction Commitment is just the latest in a series of ‘green’ initiatives to which businesses have had to adapt, and in fact they should already have begun gathering data on their 2008 energy use,” he said.
“Anyone who uses 6,000 megawatt hours of electricity is obliged to register for the scheme, so several of the larger companies in and around Swindon will be affected. That said, a number of large energy consumers such as car manufacturers have opted out of the relevant EU trading scheme, so Honda for example, may not be included.”
Mr Weir says that even companies that do not have to register under the CRC will still have to provide data because the Government is also requesting information from those whose energy use is between 3,000 and 6,000 megawatt hours a year, so it can monitor their consumption and include them in the scheme if they exceed the threshold.
“Not only are many businesses unaware of the CRC, there is also considerable uncertainty among landlords about their relationship with tenants under the scheme.
“This is because the party that signs the energy contract will be responsible for cutting energy use to meet the commitment targets, which is a problem in buildings where the landlord is signatory on the energy contract but the tenant uses the energy.
“Good performers will receive a bonus based on their position in a league table, while poor performers will be fined, so we could actually end up with the situation where a landlord is penalised for its tenant’s profligate energy use.
“In addition, it should be pointed out that while the allowances will initially be set at £12 per tonne, the cost is set to rise as they are traded on the open market, which is expected to start in 2013.
“The message is clear – when it comes to the Carbon Reduction Commitment the onus is on companies to be proactive, and there will be no point in pleading ignorance.”
