Exclusive: Chief execs confirm sustainability projects are smashing expectations

Survey of global C-level executives reveals that nearly three quarters of green business projects perform better than expected

By James Murray

Nearly three quarters of corporate sustainability projects exceed managers' expectations, according to a major new international survey of 247 C-level executives to be released later today.

The survey, which was undertaken by consultancy Accenture, revealed that 72 per cent of executives in the UK, US and China believe that the benefits of sustainability initiatives exceed expectations, while only four per cent found that they fell short of initial targets.

Almost half of respondents said that sustainability projects had helped to enhance stakeholders' trust in their firm, 42 per cent said that they had resulted in lower costs, and 41 per cent said that they had bolstered their brand equity.

Speaking to BusinessGreen, Bruno Berthon, managing director at Accenture Sustainability Services, said that the developing nature of the economic, social and regulatory factors driving investment in corporate sustainability meant there was a good chance that green business will continue to outstrip managers' expectations.

"All the factors driving this are developing fast," he observed. "For example, if you invested in an energy efficiency project two years ago, the rising price of energy means the benefits could be double what you expected."

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Carbon Trust calls for energy efficiency partnerships - 17 May 2011 - News from BusinessGreen

Body looks to expand advisory capabilities and leverage private capital following successful deal with Siemens

By Will Nichols


The Carbon Trust has given an insight into its future operations by calling for partners to extend the reach of its energy efficiency and low carbon advisory role.

The Trust stated in an advert in today's Financial Times that it is looking to build on its work helping companies reduce their carbon impact, and asked for organisations to submit expressions of interest to "be considered for commercial partnerships or to enter into alliances or arrangements with the Carbon Trust or one of its subsidiaries".

he Trust has always been involved in attracting private capital into the sector, but has stepped up its efforts of late. The organisation will provide the expertise for a £550m green financing initiative launched earlier this year with Siemens to help companies cover the upfront costs of installing energy efficiency measures.

Last year's Comprehensive Spending Review promised 40 per cent cuts to the Carbon Trust's budget from this financial year, and it was thought that the organisation would step up its private sector work to cover the shortfall.

However, Claire Hierons, head of business development for the Carbon Trust's delivery programmes, told BusinessGreen that today's call was about providing a wider range of advisory services.

"Budgetary cuts mean you can do fewer things, but it's possible that perpetuating the partnerships means we can do more," she said.

Hierons added that the Carbon Trust was looking to follow on from the Siemens deal with a partnership on a similar scale, potentially as early as this year.

"The Siemens deal gave us an opportunity to say: 'Look, this works.' We want to build on that success," she said. "It would be nice to be working on [the energy efficiency partnership] over this financial year - the agenda's moving so quickly."

Hierons explained that businesses are increasingly in need of advice with the advent of the Green Deal over the next year and a renewed focus on lowering operating costs after the economic downturn.

"What we've seen is maybe 'climate change' starts being called 'energy efficiency' and 'saving carbon' starts being called 'saving money'. What you need to do is pretty much the same whether you're saving carbon or money," she said.

Defra sets out options for company carbon reporting

Defra sets out options for company carbon reporting: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

Greenwise Staff

11th May 2011

The Department for the Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) today set out options on how to improve carbon reporting among businesses, including making it a legal requirement.

The four options, three of which propose mandatory reporting and one voluntary, are being put forward in a consultation launched by Defra today in order to reach a decision on how to improve greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reporting by companies. The 2008 Climate Change Act requires the Government to make GHG reporting mandatory by April 2012, or explain to Parliament why it is not. Defra aims to reach a final decision by the autumn and said it was launching today’s consultation in order to ensure it does not put "unnecessary burdens" on businesses.

"Our aim is to increase the number of companies which actively manage and report their emissions, so we want to hear from businesses how they think we will achieve more widespread and consistent reporting," said Environment Minister Lord Henley.

The regulatory options are all aimed at large companies and would require firms to report their GHG emissions in their directors’ report, in line with the 2006 Companies Act. This requires directors to report on environmental matters in their annual reports and accounts.

Options proposed

Under option one, all quoted companies would be mandated to report on their GHG emissions,.

Option two would make it a regulartory requirement under the Companies Act for all large companies. The Companies Act defines large companies in terms of their number of employees, gross assets and turnover.

The third option would make it a legal requirement for companies that consumed a certain level of electricity to report on their emissions. Under this option, Defra is proposing companies should have to report following the same qualifying criteria as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme, a mandatory UK-wide scheme that targets emissions from large public and private sector organisations. Under the CRC, organisations who are supplied with more than 6,000 megawatt hours of qualifying electricity must register as participants.

The fourth option proposes maintaining a voluntary system, but enhancing it. A report released last week by the Environment Agency showed that more companies were reporting their GHG emissions, but the quality was varied and in some cases was too basic.

Under new voluntary proposals, Defra said reporting could be improved either through the Government increasing awareness of the benefits of reporting. Other options it put forward were increasing support and collaboration for reporting organisations, such as the Carbon Disclosure Project, developing sector specific voluntary agreements, or creating bilateral agreements between Government and companies.

A Defra spokesperson today confirmed that smaller companies were not being included in any of the mandatory options so as not to increase unnecessary red tape. However, he said that some larger companies were calling for mandatory reporting. "The feedback we have received is that some larger companies want to create a level playing field."

Defra research has shown that reporting emissions has helped companies improve their environmental footprint, as well as improve their image and made them more attractive to investors.

The consultation closes on July 5 2011 and can be found at www.defra.gov.uk.

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Carbon Trust Standard launches online assessment tool for certification | The Green IT Review

Carbon Trust Standard launches online assessment tool for certification | The Green IT Review: "The UK’s Carbon Trust has launched an online assessment tool to make it easier for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to achieve Carbon Trust Standard certification. SMEs using the tool have, on average, cut their energy costs by £2,000 per year, and their carbon footprints by 13 tonnes CO2e.

The Carbon Trust Standard online application process is available for companies who are not already covered under the government's CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. They must have an annual energy spend of no more than £50,000 with only, 'simple' UK-based emission sources, i.e. utilities, owned/leased vehicles, on-site fuel consumption.

Companies completing the assessment need to input information about their organisation and its carbon footprint (including details of energy consumption) and answer a series of questions about carbon management policies and procedures, providing evidence to support responses. When done, the application is submitted for initial review and, after the final submission, companies are told whether they have achieved certification.

The Carbon Trust is a not-for-profit company supporting the move to a low carbon economy. The organisation claims that SMEs can save £400m a year and over 2.5 million tonnes of C02e through carbon footprint reduction and certification.

Sounds like a good idea. While the certification is a nice-to-have, just getting SMEs to start looking at the process of carbon management could have a significant impact.

According to the Carbon Trust there are 4.8 million SMEs in the UK accounting for 45% of UK business energy expenditure. Collectively, the smaller organisations that fall outside of existing legislation - the CRC, the EU Emission Trading Scheme (ETS) and Climate Change Agreements (CCA) - account for a quarter of all non-domestic emissions.

The more aware smaller companies are of their energy costs the more they’re likely to take some action to reduce power usage. It’s an opportunity for green IT solutions, such as carbon and energy management software, to help them do it better.

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UK government finally approves the carbon budget through to 2027

According to the Observer newspaper yesterday and subsequent reports this morning, the UK government has agreed to abide by the recommendations of the Committee on Climate Change for its fourth carbon budget, which takes us through to 2027.

The independent Committee was set up by the Climate Change legislation, which requires Parliament to set carbon budgets for the maximum emissions in a series of five year periods through to 2050. The Committee on Climate Change is required to recommend the level of these budgets, and a proposal must then be put before Parliament.

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Europe’s Energy Efficiency Economy | 1E Blogs

Europe’s Energy Efficiency Economy | 1E Blogs: "- Sent using Google Toolbar"

After a series of events in Brussels in April, is Europe now ready to commit to energy efficiency for 2020?

The EU Sustainable Energy Week (EUSEW) organized over 700 events across Europe to show, promote, discuss and celebrate energy efficiency and renewable energy. There were a number of events held in Brussels attracting 30,000 attendees, including a 3-day policy conference organized by the European Commission where they announced the next steps to deploy smart grids throughout Europe.

The Alliance to Save Energy (ASE) and the European Alliance to Save Energy (EU-ASE) co-hosted the Energy Efficiency Global 2011 as an official EUSEW side-event. The Energy Efficiency Global Forum (EE Global), now in its fourth year, is a launching pad for ideas that change the energy landscape, bringing together high-level officials from government, business and NGOs.

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