Just under 95 per cent of businesses that had to comply with the first CRC reporting deadline have done so, according to figures released by the enforcement agency for the energy efficiency scheme.
Environment Agency data released yesterday shows a total of 4295 out of an expected 4549 reports have been submitted by businesses that are participating in the
Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme. This equates to 94.5 per cent of CRC registered businesses, which together represent more than 10 per cent of the UK’s total annual carbon emissions, the Environment Agency said.
The CRC, which launched last year, requires large public and private sector organisations to buy allowances to cover emissions produced from their usage of electricity and heat. Under the CRC timetable, organisation had to submit reports about their carbon emissions by July 29.
The Environment Agency welcomed the number of submissions received by the deadline.
"This is a new scheme for the UK, so we are pleased that the vast majority of organisations required to submit a report have done so by the deadline," Tony Grayling, head of Climate Change and Communities at the Environment Agency said.
Broken down, the figures show more than half of submissions (2224) were in the form of carbon footprint reports, while the rest (2071) were made up of annual reports.
The Environment Agency said together the reports represented 60 million tonnes of the UK’s annual carbon dioxide emissions.
Performance league tableThe information provided will be used to compile the first CRC performance league table, the Environment Agency said. The league table ranks organisations according to their
energy efficiency and is now the main incentive of the CRC, following the Government’s decision to scrap the 'revenue recycling’ element of the scheme and instead keep all the money raised through the CRC to support the public finances.
The CRC league table will be published in Autumn 2011.
Environment Agency cuts CO2 emissionsIn a separate announcement, the Environment Agency said today it had cut its CO2 emissions by almost a fifth over the last four years, helping it to reduce it costs by £6 million a year.
Figures released show the agency has reduced office
waste by 18 per cent, mileage by 33 per cent and carbon dioxide emissions by 17 per cent. It has also reduced the amount of energy used by its
buildings by 15 per cent and mains water usage by 18 per cent.
With evidence that many large companies are still not doing enough to tackle their environmental footprint, the Environment Agency urged others to follow its lead.
"Big organisations often have a big environmental footprint. Transport, energy and waste all contribute and need to be managed, measured and reduced. Those that do so effectively will reduce costs and improve their reputation," Environment Agency chief executive, Dr Paul Leinster said.
Like this story? Please subscribe to our free weekly e-newsletter at the top of the page for more content like this.
Related content:
