UNIT4 Business Software (which owns the CODA and Agresso brands), is urging organisations subject to the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Scheme to show willing and register well in advance of the September 31st deadline or risk incurring fines up to £45,000.
The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme comes into full force in the UK next April. For the first time large non-energy intensive organisations, which account for about 10% of UK CO2 emissions, will be legally bound to closely monitor and report their emissions from energy use in preparation for carbon trading. The scheme will also give people and businesses the opportunity to compare organisations’ efforts to combat climate change for the first time.
In June, UNIT4 launched Sustain4, an environmental performance management solution to help executives understand and improve their environmental and business performance. “Based on our experience in this area, companies subject to the Scheme should show willing by registering early,” said Anwen Robinson, Managing Director of UNIT4 Business Software. “It is designed to encourage leadership and to reduce costs and increase awareness of the importance of energy efficiency. Anyone dragging their feet on this will be opening themselves to criticism and will not benefit in the same way as organisations approaching this with an open mind. Those that do not comply will be named and ranked in the CRC annual league table, which could be very damaging to their reputation. We are working with organisations everyday to show them how they can transform their business practices and processes to improve environmental performance and the business and cost benefits are significant.”
Under the rules of the CRC, organisations that use more than 6,000 Megawatt hours (MWh) of electricity a year must register as participants in the scheme and provide annual information on their energy use. The Environment Agency said that over 1,200 organisations have registered as CRC participants to date, although initial estimates claimed that 3,000 to 4,000 organisations would be required to join.
Sustain4 (developed in partnership with Trucost) helps organisations assess, manage and improve their corporate environmental performance across more than 700 areas of impact from greenhouse gas production to water usage. They can swiftly benchmark themselves against other organisations in their sector as well as capture, analyse and track their ongoing performance across their entire supply chain.
