Two thirds of firms unaware of upcoming carbon regulation

Two thirds of Britain's bosses are unaware that the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) will soon compel them to account for their companies' carbon emissions, according to a survey released today by the charity Business in the Community.

The survey of 266 UK business leaders also found that 40 per cent of bosses at larger firms felt they still needed help and advice on complying with the new rules, which come into full effect from next year.

The findings will further stoke criticism of government attempts to ensure firms are aware of the CRC – a carbon cap-and-trade scheme which comes into effect from next year and will require an estimated 5,000 UK firms to report on their carbon emissions.

Responding to the survey, Ed Miliband, secretary of state for energy and climate change, defended the government's efforts to promote awareness of the CRC.

"In the past year the government has written to 10,000 organisations, conducted workshops across the country and, last month, launched a third public consultation to inform large organisations about the forthcoming Carbon Reduction Commitment," he said. "When it starts in 2010, the CRC will mean large organisations have a strong incentive to reduce their carbon emissions, and at the same time make real savings on their energy bills."

In addition to revealing relatively low levels of awareness of the CRC, the survey also found that 17 per cent of executives were willing to admit they were scaling down their focus on carbon reduction as a result of the economic crisis.

Stephen Howard, chief executive of Business in the Community, said that firms should not use the recession as an excuse to scale back investments in reducing carbon emissions, arguing that companies such as BT, EDF and Lloyds TSB had shown that it was possible to deliver multimillion-pound cost savings through relatively small investments in saving energy.

"During a recession, businesses can save money by being more energy efficient. Investing time and money in low-carbon solutions now will put businesses in a more competitive position as we come out of the recession," he said.

In related news, technology firm Capgemini, engineering consultancies Arup and Buro Happold, Bristol Zoo and the South West Regional Development Agency all committed today to cut their emissions by a minimum of 10 per cent from current levels by 2012 as part of the Prince's May Day Summit.