Register early for the CRC, advises EDF

Organisations required to register under the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) should start early, especially if they have complex company structures, or are owned by entities based outside the UK.

That is the advice emerging from the experiences of the UK arm of Electricite de France in the run-up to the CRC registration deadline on 30 September.

“We thought, with our knowledge of the process, it would be fairly simple, but we did experience some registration challenges,” Dr Jonathan Foot, chief environment officer at EDF, told Businessgreen.com.

The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) is a mandatory carbon cap-and-trade scheme targeting energy-intensive organisations not covered by the EU emissions trading scheme, such as local authorities, banks, supermarkets and hospitals.

Under the legislation, which comes into effect in April 2010, an estimated 20,000 large public and private sector organisations that use half-hourly electricity meters will have to report to the government.

Of these, around 5,000 organisations with annual electricity bills of over £500,000 will have to report on their energy use, purchase carbon credits to cover their calculated carbon emissions, and comply with targets to reduce their carbon footprint.

The scheme is intended to be revenue-neutral overall, although those that deliver the deepest reductions in their energy use will receive bonus payments, while those that perform worst will face financial penalties.

Specifically, the guidance notes available for registrants from the Environment Agency didn’t cover EDF’s ownership structure, said Foot. At the time of going to press, EDF was still waiting for the agency to find a solution.

“The key lesson we learned is that organisations need to register as soon as possible so as to have time to work with the agency and resolve any issues,” said Foot.

"The basic CRC scheme is simple, but some of the organisations covered by the scheme are complex - and that means that parts of the scheme need to be too,” an Environment Agency spokesperson told Businessgreen.com. “The organisations participating in CRC are significant bodies that should be able to cope with complexity, but we are here to help anyone who wants support.”

Organisations with questions about the scheme can contact the agency’s dedicated helpdesk at CRCHELP@environment-agency.gov.uk, or call on 08708 506 506. There is also information, guidance and advice on the agency’s website, the agency spokesperson said.

As an energy supplier, EDF is obliged to help its customers reduce their emissions by 15 per cent by 2020. Foot said the company had gone well beyond what the law required by providing energy workshops for businesses, highlighting the risks and benefits of the CRC and offering help with registration and energy management.

“Maintaining the evidence pack required by the agency is quite a commitment,” said Foot, “especially given that it has to be in the format acceptable to the agency.”

Last week a survey by green IT consultancy Externus revealed alarmingly low levels of awareness of the CRC among executives in companies eligible for registration.

In June, the Environment Agency’s own figures showed that just one in 10 eligible companies had registered.