The CBI has said that the Government needs to make carbon emission reporting mandatory but also urged a simplification of the rules.
In its submission to DEFRA’s consultation on the measuring and reporting of greenhouse gas emissions, the CBI argued that compulsory carbon reporting would help firms monitor and manage their emissions effectively.
However, the business group warned that many businesses have to report emissions under a variety of other mechanisms, including the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) and EU Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS).
The Government should, therefore, look to drop time-wasting duplication.
Rhian Kelly, the CBI’s director for business environment, said:?”Mandatory carbon reporting is a great way of making boardrooms aware of the savings possible through energy efficiency.
“To be effective, it is important that the Government phases in the introduction of mandatory reporting and makes the process simple for companies to follow.
“Given that many companies already report their emissions under other schemes, the Government should get rid of overlapping regulations so firms don’t end up getting bogged down reporting for a variety of different schemes.”
In order to comply with the 2008 Climate Change Act, the Government must make a decision on whether to introduce mandatory carbon reporting by April 2012.
The CBI’s position is that, if the Government goes ahead with mandatory reporting, it should scrap the CRC performance league table, which has lost impact and merely imposes unnecessary doubling of administrative effort.
