By the end of this month (September) companies affected should have signed up to the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (previously the Carbon Reduction Commitment), but environmental consultants WSP Environment & Energy estimate that 7,500 businesses will miss the deadline.

The scheme is initially only for large companies using more than 6,000MWh of electricity a year – that’s about £500,000 worth. Marshalls qualify under that criteria but it is difficult to see many other companies touching the stone industry that will do so.

However, the scheme also requires companies with half-hourly meters to register. Companies paying more than £30,000 a year for electricity are likely to have half-hourly meters. According to WSP Environment & Energy, it is companies on half-hourly meters who are failing to register. 

The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is a mandatory carbon emissions trading scheme. Anyone who is supposed to register by 30 September and doesn’t faces a £5,000 fine for missing the deadline and a further £500 fine for each day they still haven’t registered after the deadline.

If you have a half-hourly electricity meter you should have received a pack from the Environment Agency telling you about the scheme, even if you do not have to buy carbon credits. 

All organisations with a half-hourly meter must make a declaration of their consumption. 

As reported in NSS in February, the CRC is likely to expand relatively quickly to encompass more businesses. It is worth keeping an eye on the scheme and preparing for implementation involving you or it could be expensive.

Official guidance on who is affected by the CRC and what participation involves is available from the Environment Agency website (the url is at the end of this report).

Each year, the CRC will require participating organisations to purchase and submit sufficient allowances to meet their annual emissions. The scheme starts with a reporting year from April 2010, with the first sales of allowances being held in April next year.

During the introductory phase, carbon emission allowances will be sold at a fixed price of £12 per tonne of carbon dioxide produced. From April 2013, allowances will be auctioned by the government, with fewer available each year. 

Companies will receive a bonus if they cut emissions and a penalty if they increase them compared with other organisations within the scheme.