The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) have published new guidance to measure and tackle greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions for businesses and organizations. The guidance has been published alongside advice on what it means to be carbon neutral. The guidance helps businesses and organizations to measure and report their current emissions and set reduction targets.
Businesses produce a significant proportion of the UK’s GHG emissions and have a direct role to play in helping the UK meet its climate change commitments.
Environment Secretary Hilary Benn said: “Businesses have an opportunity to lead the way on the UK’s climate change agenda and this guidance helps them do that. Measuring your GHG emissions is an important first step in addressing the UK’s contribution to the UK’s total emissions. By reducing them, organizations can save money on energy costs and resource efficiencies – as well as maintaining a competitive edge through strengthening their green credentials.”
The UK committed to reduce total GHG emissions by at least 80% below 1990 levels by 2050 under the Climate Change Act 2008. A key requirement of the Act was to publish guidance to help organizations report on the emissions that they are responsible for.
The guidance is aimed at all sizes of business as well as public and third sector organizations.
Energy Minister Joan Ruddock said: “Measuring emissions is fundamental to our understanding of climate change and a vital first step towards managing carbon impacts. Businesses will play a vital part in the UK’s move to a low carbon future and this guidance will enable organizations to identifying their emissions and work towards reducing them saving energy and money.”
“We are committed to setting UK businesses on a course to combating climate change that will inspire other nations to take the same action.”
Complementing the GHG guidance, further guidance has been published on how businesses can be carbon neutral by following a three-stage process of calculating, reducing and offsetting emissions. Until now there has been no formal definition of carbon neutral. This new guidance will help the Advertising Standards Authority in its rulings ahead of Defra’s revised Green Claims Code, due for publication later this year, which will help advertisers making environmental claims about products and services.