Carbon Credentials

Does your organisation have the processes in place to conduct a thorough and useful internal audit?

sam — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:49:11 +0000

The internal audit is a key mandatory requirement of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC). It can also be a useful way of ensuring that the CRC relevant data collection processes in place in the organisation are robust and working effectively. The CRC internal audit requires an important review of the CRC evidence pack, recommended . . . → Read More: Does your organisation have the processes in place to conduct a thorough and useful internal audit?

Are you confident that you have correctly determined your ‘CRC organisation’ and included all qualifying assets?

sweta — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 15:38:50 +0000

Time and time again I work with clients who have forgotten to include that office block, the one they thought the landlord had ownership of its supply for. Or they forget to remove that separate entity Restaurant from their overall supply figures.

It’s no surprise that when we discover these anomalies, the client shudders and . . . → Read More: Are you confident that you have correctly determined your ‘CRC organisation’ and included all qualifying assets?

Is the volatile and rising cost of energy a board issue yet?

sweta — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 22:03:09 +0000

Energy. It is the basis of what allows us to not spend all our waking hours hunting or farming food – from early civilisations dependent on wood and biomass fuels sources to our modern oil / nuclear energy economy, low cost and freely available energy underpins economic growth, and both business and personal freedoms.

Are you planning a 2011/2012 internal audit prior to the CRC submission deadline, July 31st 2012, (this is highly advisable)?

JasonPlent — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:49:01 +0000

Further to guidance from the Environment Agency last week, it is now clear that the £12 per tonne CRC levy for the carbon year ending of 31 March will be payable on or by the end of July 2012. That means that carbon accounts for the year ending March 31 2012 must be collated, checked, . . . → Read More: Are you planning a 2011/2012 internal audit prior to the CRC submission deadline, July 31st 2012, (this is highly advisable)?

Are you the single point of failure for CRC compliance?

JasonPlent — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:42:37 +0000

Is it really just you? Did you stay up all night to work on the spread sheets before filing with the Environment Agency in the Autumn? Was it more than just one night? Is your data all over the place but you manage to generate some reports out of it, but honestly, it doesn’t really . . . → Read More: Are you the single point of failure for CRC compliance?

Have you embedded the recommended CRC policies and procedures to ensure CRC compliance continuity in the absence of you and/or the primary contact?

JasonPlent — Sat, 21 Jan 2012 18:25:49 +0000

Developing and effectively introducing policies and procedures is an essential practice for ensuring the ongoing CRC compliance of your organisation. The ongoing data collection, special event recording and Evidence Pack compilation, as required by the CRC, aswell as the annual internal audit requirement often involves the coordination and input of significant numbers of employees, from . . . → Read More: Have you embedded the recommended CRC policies and procedures to ensure CRC compliance continuity in the absence of you and/or the primary contact?

Are you confident that you correctly applied the performance league table metrics and are they supported by accurate evidence?

JasonPlent — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 16:47:36 +0000

Many companies were unpleasantly surprised by their low position on the CRC Performance League Table (PLT), published last November. This was the first time UK companies had to disclose their carbon emissions to the public and more than 40 per cent, including many well known brand names, failed to score a single point.

The position . . . → Read More: Are you confident that you correctly applied the performance league table metrics and are they supported by accurate evidence?

Are the risks of CRC non-compliance understood by your Board?

JasonPlent — Mon, 16 Jan 2012 10:02:41 +0000

Does your Chief Financial Officer appreciate that the potential cash outlay for the carbon levy will be around 8% of energy spend, and that needs to be found every year from April 2011. So if you energy spend is £1 million a year your carbon levy will be around £80,000 pounds. Even if your CFO . . . → Read More: Are the risks of CRC non-compliance understood by your Board?

Have you completed a CRC internal audit yet?

sweta — Fri, 13 Jan 2012 21:19:20 +0000

This week the environment agency confirmed that all participants will have to complete payment for their CRC allowances by the end of July. For many organisations, this will require a definitive carbon figure to be calculated and verified by the end of June to allow the accounting contacts time to organise the required payments.

But . . . → Read More: Have you completed a CRC internal audit yet?

Understanding the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)

sam — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 18:10:35 +0000

The Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI) is a new energy incentive programme developed by the UK government to tackle one of the highest sources of emissions in the UK: the heating of buildings. To meet EU targets, the UK has to increase the percentage of energy produced by renewable sources to 15% by 2020. These targets . . . → Read More: Understanding the Renewable Heat Incentive (RHI)