Carbon Reduction Commitment
15th July 2009
CRC Training Module
EiE is about to launch a new module for organisations wishing to embed CRC consideration into all aspects of energy related decision making. See below for module details. The module will be designed in response to the needs and requirements of businesses. If you would like to have an input in the module content, please complete the survey.
This module will run in Summer 2011. If you are interested in in further details, please contact us: eie@brookes.ac.uk , 01865 483 299.
MODULE TITLE
Committing to carbon reduction - whole integration for large organisations
DESCRIPTION
The module is designed to improve consideration of carbon accounting at all levels within organisations. This module provides approaches to integrating policy and actions to reduce carbon and comply with legislation (with particular emphasis on the Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme). The module will appeal to staff responsible for carbon accounting, environmental management systems, and those wishing to understand carbon reduction in practise. The module teaches skills for mapping risks and opportunities for carbon reduction in organisations including legislative framework, internal communications, procurement, decision making, and full-cost benefit analysis.
CONTENT
. Current legislation and carbon mechanisms
Types of carbon reduction directives and strategies, legislative requirements and thresholds
. Implementing reduction - drivers and constraints
Mapping processes within organisations, carbon accounting methods
. Risk and opportunities analysis
Tools to assess strengths and weaknesses and plan improvements
. Communication structures
Introducing organisational structures and communications, developing communication plans
. Decision making
Factors and issues affecting organisational decision making
. Policy development
Overview of policies particular to carbon reduction (procurement, energy, estates, premises, etc.)
. Financial calculations
Fiscal factors and financial risk in carbon reduction, accurate calculations for CRC energy efficiency scheme
. Future proofing
Integrating sustainability into carbon reduction
What is the Carbon Reduction Commitment?
The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) is a new, legally binding climate change and energy saving scheme. This is a mandatory scheme to promote energy efficiency and help reduce carbon emissions. It is a UK wide scheme which will cover around 20,000 large business and public sector organisations.
The scheme aims to cut carbon emissions from large energy users by 1.1MtC/year (4 million tonnes of CO2). It will drive energy efficiency and carbon saving by providing a financial incentive to organisations.
The first stage of the scheme will start in April 2010, but businesses will need to take steps to start gathering the information on energy usage now.
How will the CRC work?
There are two levels of participation for CRC.
Some organisations (around 15,000) will only be required to keep records of their electricity use and periodically report them to the CRC administrator.
Other participants (around 5,000) will be required to participate fully. This means they must record and monitor their CO2 emissions, and will also have to purchase allowances equivalent to their emissions each year. In future years, each participating organisations energy performance will be published in a 'league table'. More information on the allowance scheme is available in DECC's CRC User Guide (4.8MB).
Will my organisation be affected by the CRC?
The Government distributed 10,000 letters to potential scheme participants in July 2008. If your business received one of these letters you should already have started the process of preparing for CRC.
There are a number of specific criteria for participation in the scheme.
If your business:
1. Has half hourly electricity meters
and
2. Consumed over 6000MWh of electricity through these meters during 2008
it is one of the organisations that will be included in the CRC scheme. Packs should be sent by Defra to organisations with half hourly meters during September 2009.
If your business:
1. Has half hourly electricity meters
but
2. Consumed less than 6000MWh of electricity in 2008
it will not be required to be a full participant in the CRC. HOWEVER, you will be required to make an information disclosure through the CRC online registry.
What do I do now?
Full information on the CRC scheme as well as the timescales and responsibilities of participants has been published by Defra. To find out more information visit the DECC pages on CRC or read Defra's comprehensive CRC User Guide.(4.8MB)
If you know you will be affected by the CRC, you should start planning now. Establish a system to record energy use and collate data on energy use from the 2008 qualification period. You will be required to submit this information after April 2010.
For step by step guidance on preparing for the Carbon Reduction Commitment, or for information on commissioning an energy audit to assess your current energy use, please contact EiE.
