Survey: 53% of top U.K. execs overlook Carbon Reduction Commitment Scheme

by jbs073010 f3 — August 2, 2010—A survey carried out by green IT consultancy Externus revealed that more than half of senior executives at the top 5,000 U.K. companies are unaware of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, and an even greater proportion does not know if their firm will be affected by the legislation.

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

An estimated 20,000 large public and private sector organizations that use half-hourly electricity meters will have to report under the plan, which came into effect in April 2010. Of these, around 5,000 organizations 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.

In June, figures from the Environment Agency showed that less than 10 percent of eligible organizations had registered for the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. Externus notes that with the current high level of ignorance, unless there is a last minute rush to register, it seems many firms will miss the registration deadline on September 30.

The survey covers over 100 C-level and CSR executives in the top 5,000 U.K. firms. Asked if they were aware of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, 53 percent of respondents said no. Asked if they knew whether the legislation will affect their organization, 70 percent said they did not know. Thus, even some respondents who knew of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme’s existence were not sure whether it applied to their business or not.

According to the report, 70 percent of respondents claimed to have a green strategy in place—anything from recycling paper to full carbon disclosure and reduction. Asked which activities were responsible for the majority of carbon emissions in their organization, 43 percent identified buildings, 27 percent transport, and 21 percent IT. However, the survey shows that for an office-based organization with no manufacturing facility or logistics fleet, IT accounts for half of an organization’s carbon emissions.

Envido, provider of energy, carbon and sustainability solutions for private and public sector organizations, was noted as helping organizations prepare for the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.