The scheme has been designed to raise awareness in large organisations, especially at senior level, and encourage changes in behaviour and infrastructure.

The scheme's amended title serves to better reflect the CRC's focus on increasing energy efficiency. CRC is designed to improve energy efficiency in large organisations. It will operate as a 'cap and trade' mechanism, providing a financial incentive to reduce energy use by putting a price on carbon emissions from energy use. In CRC, organisations buy allowances equal to their annual emissions. The overall emissions reduction target is achieved by placing a 'cap' on the total allowances available to each group of CRC participants.

Within that overall limit, individual organisations can determine the most cost effective way to reduce their emissions. This could be through buying extra allowances or investing in ways to decrease the number of allowances they need to buy.

All the money raised through the allowances will be recycled back to participants, according to how well they perform. The scheme features an annual performance league table that ranks participants on energy efficiency performance.

Together with the financial and reputation considerations, the scheme encourages organisations to develop energy management strategies that promote a better understanding of energy consumption. Organisations are eligible for CRC if they have at least one half-hourly electricity meter settled on the half-hourly market.

They also qualify if their total half-hourly electricity consumption exceeded 6,000 megawatt-hours (approximately £500,000 electricity bill) during 2008.
 
Initially, it is estimated around 5,000 organisations will qualify, including supermarkets, water companies, banks, local authorities and all central Government Departments. Qualifying organisations will have to comply legally with the scheme or face financial and other penalties.

For further information contact:

Terry Keech
at our Orpington office
T 01689 888222 
E tkeech@calfordseaden.co.uk