Hotels, banks, schools, local authorities and around 5,000 other large organisations could all be slashing their energy bills and carbon emissions as part of a new government initiative aimed at boosting energy efficiency and tackling climate change.

A new guide is published today by the Department of Energy and Climate Change to provide a helping hand to business to prepare for the introduction of the Carbon Reduction Commitment, which will begin in April 2010. The guide establishes who is covered by the scheme and guides the reader step-by-step through what they need to do to take part in the scheme.

Energy and Climate Change Minister, Joan Ruddock, said:

“Cutting back on energy use and becoming more energy efficient makes economic sense for firms at the best of times, but it’s even more important now given the difficult business environment.

“By taking measures to improve energy efficiency, businesses can slash their energy costs. The Carbon Reduction Commitment could help business save a total of £1billion by 2020, whilst also helping them play their part in the fight against climate change.

“The Carbon Reduction Commitment is part of a package of measures in the ground breaking Climate Change Act which will help mobilise 5,000 organisations to save over 4 million tons of CO2 a year, equivalent to taking a million cars off the road.”

The revenue raised from the scheme will be recycled back to participants on the basis of a league table — so that those who are making most improvements in energy efficiency will be financially rewarded, and will receive recognition for their achievements.

The Government will further the roll out of the Carbon Reduction Commitment by launching a consultation today on the regulations which will form the basis of the initiative. Participating organisations will have to register with the Environment Agency who will administer the scheme.

The Government is already providing advice and financial incentives to help businesses take practical steps to improve their energy efficiency through the Carbon Trust and Climate Change Agreements.

Home improvement retailer, B&Q, is one such business that is already taking action to reduce their carbon footprint - Andy Francis B&Q’s Energy Manager says:

“As a responsible business, we wanted to demonstrate real reductions in our energy use and help from the Carbon Trust made this happen.  Our new eco-store in Surrey uses a whole host of new technologies – including a green roof, wind turbine and movement sensitive lighting – generating around half the CO2 emissions of similar sized store.

“This new initiative will give financial rewards for greener businesses, so it makes both environmental and financial sense for us to reduce our emissions.”

Climate Change Agreements are voluntary agreements that lead to real reductions in CO2 emissions across sectors ranging from steel to chemicals, aerospace to brewing. Businesses which meet the targets under these agreements receive an 80% reduction on their Climate Change Levy.

These reductions have already helped to save 16.4 million tonnes of CO2, and estimated energy savings worth £1.5 billion and the Government is today launching a consultation on the next stage of the Climate Change Agreements Scheme.

Notes to editors

1. You can find the Carbon Reduction Commitment User Guide here: www.defra.gov.uk/carbonreduction

2. You can take part in the Carbon Reduction Commitment consultation here: http://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/open/open.aspx

3. You can take part in the Climate Change Agreements consultation here: http://decc.gov.uk/en/content/cms/consultations/open/open.aspx

4. The aim of the Carbon Reduction Commitment is to help businesses save money and cut their carbon emissions by reducing their energy use. The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) will be a mandatory auction based emissions trading scheme for large non-energy intensive business and public sector organisations, delivering emissions reductions of 4.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (MtC) per year by 2020. Government aims to begin the CRC in April 2010, or as soon as possible thereafter, covering large organisations using more than 6,000 MWh per year.

1. All businesses whether they are taking part in Climate Change Agreements, the CRC, or are simply small businesses wishing to cut their energy bills can find assistance through the Carbon Trust which provides advice to business on what practical steps they can take to improve energy efficiency, and also help to develop low carbon products and services.

6. In its new ‘One Million A Day’ campaign, the Carbon Trust is urging businesses of all sizes to join up and prioritise actions to kick-start immediate energy savings, reduce carbon emissions and make significant direct costs savings. For more information on the Carbon Trust visit http://www.carbontrust.co.uk/ or call the Carbon Trust Advice Line on 0800 085 2005.

7. Climate Change Levy is an energy tax levied on most business and public sector energy use. It is estimated that the CCL package will save around 21MtCO₂ per year by 2010 – equivalent to taking around 5 million cars off the road. Energy intensive industries may enter into Climate Change Agreements, which provide for a discount of up to 80% from the Levy in return for meeting challenging energy efficiency or carbon saving targets. At present more than 50 sectors have CCAs.

8. Throughout April the Environment Agency will be running a series of half day seminars for businesses in England and Wales. These events will provide valuable information to businesses on how CRC will affect them and what they need to do.

Source: Department for Energy and Climate Change

IEA is pleased to extend local EPC assessor coverage to Bristol, Kent, London and Birmingham. We have assessors resident in these areas who are able to provide a prompt local service. IEA currently provide services in Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Northamptonshire and Bedfordshire. The growing demand for assessments further a field has grown enormously. The use of local assessors is now a policy commitment in our own environmental policy initiative, which is designed to help reduce our own carbon emissions while providing energy assessments.

IEA announce its ISO 14001 service.

IEA Environmental provides organisations with a framework for achieving accreditation under ISO 14001 - Environmental Management Systems (EMS).

Organizations of all kinds are increasingly concerned with achieving and demonstrating sound environmental performance by controlling the impacts of their activities, products and services on the environment, consistent with their environmental policy and objectives. They do so in the context of increasingly stringent legislation, the development of economic policies and other measures that foster environmental protection, and increased concern expressed by interested parties about environmental matters and sustainable development.

Many organizations have undertaken environmental “reviews” or “audits” to assess their environmental performance. On their own, however, these “reviews” and “audits” may not be sufficient to provide an organization with the assurance that its performance not only meets, but will continue to meet, its legal and policy requirements. To be effective, they need to be conducted within a structured management system that is integrated within the organization.

International Standards covering environmental management are intended to provide organizations with the elements of an effective EMS that can be integrated with other management requirements and help organizations achieve environmental and economic goals.

IEA Environmental parent company Independent Energy Assessors Ltd has had much success in providing energy performance advice to its customers and this resource places us in a unique position in providing Environmental Management Systems as a whole package.

Call us now to discuss the benefits to your business in achieving a successful environmental management system.

Source: IEA & ISO policy document.