Whose CO2 is it anyway?

Abstract

The launch next month of the UK's Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme - EES - will mark a major change in how organisations control and pay for the energy they consume, and in the extent to which they accept a responsibility for shaping their overall emissions profile. It is a legislative push that has divided industry opinion like no other regulation in recent years. The CRC EES is the UK's incoming mandatory energy saving policy, central to the plan to improve the nation's energy efficiency and reduce C02 emissions, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. It is designed to raise awareness in around 20,000 large public and private-sector organisations, which - according to the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) - are responsible for about 10 per cent of the UK's emissions. It operates as a 'cap and trade' mechanism, providing financial incentives to reduce energy use by pricing carbon emissions derived from energy use. EES works by getting organisations to buy allowances equal to their annual emissions. IT has been framed as the prime consumer of enterprise energy; it has also distinguished itself with 'green' IT initiatives, and associated awareness campaigns. Many prominent IT heads have proved to be leaders of carbon-management programmes within their organisations and beyond. There is a financial incentive in reducing energy bills, of course; but IT departments do not always benefit directly from this, as consumption is not charged back on a per-usage basis.