The Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) has announced final details of the Government’s Carbon Reduction Commitment, now called the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC). The CRC now allows verification of carbon emission reduction via schemes alternative, but equivalent, to the Carbon Trust Standard to count as an Early Action Metric.
The announcement means that organizations seeking credit as part of the Early Action Metric, one of the measures used to determine an organization’s position in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme league table, will now have a choice of equivalent accredited schemes under which they carry this out.
BS EN 16001, published by BSI in July, specifies the requirements for an energy management system which entails the development of an energy policy, identification of an organization’s past, present and future energy consumption and the development of an energy monitoring (metering) plan. Following the DECC announcement, any accreditation scheme developed in accordance with BS EN 16001 can now be used by organizations seeking credit towards the Early Action Metric.
BSI KITEMARK SCHEME
BSI is developing its own scheme to build on the implementation of BS EN 16001, offering verification of carbon emission reductions as well as an independent verification of the management of the system. Companies achieving a reduction of at least 2.5% per annum calculated from three year’s worth of data will be awarded the BSI Kitemark. It is expected that the Kitemark scheme will qualify as an Early Action Metric under the CRC, subject to Environment Agency approval.
The CRC is a new UK regulatory incentive to improve energy efficiency in large public and private sector organisations due to start in April 2010. Although 20,000 companies are affected by the scheme, only 5,000 will be required to participate fully and have their energy performance rated in a publicly available league table. Companies will then be required to purchase allowances depending on their energy usage. Early Action Metrics, such as BSI's Kitemark certification for Energy Reduction Verification should be an effective and trusted way in which an organization can improve its rating in the published tables.
Howard Kerr, Chief Executive of BSI, said:
“BSI research tells us that the interest in energy management is primarily driven by potential cost savings and a desire to protect the global climate. BS EN 16001 is key for any organization wishing to achieve these aims and now it can be used as a framework for the development of accredited verification schemes which may be used as an Early Action Metric by those included in the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme. BSI will soon offer its own Kitemark scheme for those covered by the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme which should help position them advantageously in the subsequent league tables.”
BSI PUBLISHES BS EN 16001 PILOTS
BSI, with support from the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills, ran five BS EN 16001 implementation pilots. Virgin Trains, City of London Corporation, Robert Wiseman Dairies, ND Metering Solutions and SKF Group trialled the usability of the standard and provided feedback which will inform future editions of BS EN 16001 and assist organizations interested in implementing the standards. The case studies are available to download here.
Click here for further information on BS EN 16001.
Click here for further information on BSI’s Kitemark scheme.
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