Carbon Reduction Commitment Consultancy

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) is a mandatory carbon taxation scheme in the UK for large non-energy intensive organisations introduced in April 2010.

It applies to organisations with half-hourly metered electricity consumption greater than 6,000 MWh per year (circa £500K). It affects up to 4,000 commercial and public sector organisations including retail and hotel chains, banks, local authorities, central government and health authorities.

At the end of each year, organisations affected are required to purchase allowances of carbon which they emitted over the last year.

At the end of each year, organisations will be placed in a CRC league table using performance metrics. Those with poor environmental performance will suffer a loss of reputation (although there is now no direct CRC financial penalty proposed – although higher carbon emissions will cost the organisation more)

TEAM’s Energy Consultants are ideally placed to support you during the various phases of the CRC from data collation, the production of evidence packs, forecasting and the buying and selling of credits.

The TEAM Energy Consultancy and Bureau Services can help carry out the work required for CRC compliance. Alternatively the TEAM Sigma software can be utilised by organisations to carry out this work themselves. Our service is totally flexible and we can support you as much or as little as you choose.

How TEAM can help

TEAM is supporting organisations throughout the whole process of complying with the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. Regardless of how you currently manage your utility data, we can help.

Stage 1 – Preparation

The Preparation Stage includes a full audit of your energy consumption to validate your organisation’s total emissions. As part of this we:

• Perform data quality checks
• Identify any estimated energy usage and self-reads
• Confirm the core sources of emissions
• Collate any landlord / tenant supply arrangements

Early Action Metrics – TEAM can help you implement the following actions to help you improve your position in the CRC league table:

• Advanced Metering – TEAM can provide feasibility studies and supply complete AMR solutions.
• Carbon Trust Standard – TEAM can prepare your organisation for a successful assessment under the Carbon Trust’s national scheme that recognises good practice in reducing carbon emissions

Stage 2 – Compliance

Annual and Footprint Reports – TEAM will compile and submit your Annual and Footprint Reports to the scheme administrator by the required deadlines each year.

The Evidence Pack – TEAM put all records that support the Annual and Footprint Report into an Evidence Pack as required for the scheme. This includes:

• Structural Records of your organisation’s scope and operations
• Data Records showing your energy consumption
• Special Event Records covering changes of your energy supplier / meters etc.
• Records of Exemptions and Credits to secure full benefit from your membership of the EU Emissions Trading Scheme, Climate Change Agreements and CHP (Combined Heat & Power generation) as appropriate
• Data for Early Action Metrics
• Growth Metrics to ensure that any changes in your emissions in future years can be related to the size of the organisation by accounting for your financial turnover or revenue expenditure.

Audit and Regulation – TEAM ensure your CRC records are accurate for an audit by the regulator.

Stage 3 – Implementation

Buying Carbon Allowances – TEAM can advise your organisation how many carbon allowances to buy – generally after each CRC year ends ( for every tonne of CO2 emissions), initially at a cost of £12/tonne, but subject to future budgets.

Monitoring Performance – TEAM monitor your ongoing carbon performance during each year and report dynamically on your expected end-of-year emissions to assist budget planning for this carbon tax. The COST has risen significantly as a result of the Spending Review.

Forecasting – TEAM prepare forecasts of your emissions over the next year – and prepare a report to compare the actual emissions against the forecast (for each site) which helps identify any underestimates – and provides an opportunity for the carbon manager to identify and correct the causes of higher emissions. Factors which affect the energy or carbon performance of an individual sites can be noted.

Stage 4 – Carbon Reduction

The direct savings that arise from an effective energy reduction programme far outweigh the savings from the current carbon price within the CRC scheme (which typically adds around 8% to the cost of the energy) Therefore, TEAM can provide ongoing support in a number of important areas to help you improve your overall carbon performance by reducing your energy use.

• Benchmarking - produce league tables to detect waste and identify potential for energy savings
• Energy Surveys – to assess opportunities for carbon reductions (by reducing energy use)
• Feasibility Studies – to evaluate potential costs and savings from recommended measures
• Project Management – to ensure successful implementation of carbon reduction schemes
• Energy Saving Solutions – from design, finance, supply to installation and operation of carbon saving solutions

Not in now, but might qualify for Phase 2?

The qualifying period for phase 2 of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is based on your electricity consumption during the period April 2012 to March 2013. If you think you might qualify for Phase 2 of the CRC, but are unsure of how to start the process of preparing for this, TEAM can help you assess the potential impact on your business.

We can support you with the development of your CRC strategy and help you build a tailored action plan. This can involve Risk Assessment, prediction of expected capital expenditure, preparation of ‘what-if’ forecasts and the formulation of risk reduction strategies.

TEAM can help you put together plans to minimise impact and prepare senior management briefings.