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Carbon emissions update - measuring your carbon footprint
5 December 2008
It has been a big few months for UK carbon emissions news. The
social and political climate change agenda continues to affect all
businesses, providing both opportunities and risks.
Last week, the Climate Change Act 2008 formally passed into law.
The Act commits the Government to reducing carbon emissions for the
nation by 80% by the year 2050.
Last month we also saw the first UK auction of carbon emission
allowances. Four million allowances were sold by the Government, at
a total value of £54.4m. By 2012, the revenue figure is expected to
rise to more than £1 billion. If there was any doubt, it is now
clear that 'carbon trading' is big business.
In addition, the end of October saw the BSI finally publish its
specification for the assessment of greenhouse gas emissions
related to goods and services (PAS 2050). It is intended that the
standard will enable companies to assess the carbon footprint
across the life of a particular product on a consistent basis.
PAS 2050 is described as an audit tool which will enable
businesses of all sizes to measure the amount of carbon dioxide
emitted during the production, consumption and disposal of their
products.
Although use of the PAS 2050 is not legally binding, looking to
the future it is likely to become a key tool in keeping track of
the carbon footprint of your operations. This will be useful to
companies in that it might enable environmental marketing of their
products, or allow them to take advantage of government incentives,
and conversely may provide a tool to minimise adverse regulatory
intervention in a business.
For instance, many informed consumers now choose products based
on environmental information. Consumer requirements for product
information have an impact further up the supply chain. In times of
rising energy costs, these consumer decisions can be based on both
moral and economic grounds.
We have seen an increase in the number of environmental claims
made by companies about their products, but at the same time this
has given rise to an increase in the number of complaints made to
the Advertising Standards Agency. Sometimes this is described as
'greenwash' because the claims are not substantiated by hard
evidence. Trading Standards may also use their new powers to
prosecute traders who falsely claim environmental credentials, for
instance by displaying the 'Energy Saving Recommended' logo without
authorisation. They can already use existing powers to prosecute
those who fail to comply with their obligations to reduce product
packaging.
Even prior to the Climate Change Act, local authorities have
been required to use their resources and powers to reduce carbon
emissions per capita in their area, and businesses are incentivised
to reduce emissions through Climate Change Agreements. In the
future, certain large organisations are to be subject to the Carbon
Reduction Commitment, which will require them to monitor and report
their total energy use emissions.
It remains to be seen what further legal developments may be
subsequently introduced in order to achieve the Government’s carbon
goals.
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