CRC

Carbon Reduction Commitment

The Carbon Reduction Commitment is a UK Governement initiative that has arisen from its obligations as defined in the Climate Change Act 2008.

The purpose of the CRC is to encourage organisations, through a carrot and stick approach to reduce their CO2 emissions (CO2e).

The scheme works by setting limits on the amount of CO2e that a participating organisation can produce across its business. The limit is set to drive change of energy consumption and where the limit is unachievable, the organisation is able to purchased Carbon Credits to meet its obligations. Implementation of this 'cap and trade' approach is further strengthed by the threat of tariffs, in the form of cost per tonne of CO2e, being applied to non-conforming organisations.

CRC is aimed at the largest consumers of energy in the UK and as organisations strive to reduce their carbon footprint, pressures through their supply chain will undoubtedly grow to respond similarly.

For further information refer to Defra at http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/climatechange/uk/business/crc/about.htm