Carbon Reduction Commitment
How Can ISO 14001 Benefit My Business?
May 16, 2012 | 
Author Environmental Issues are now of paramount consideration by company directors, owners and employees worldwide.
Since the 14001 EMS includes everyone in the business and all areas of the organization that affect the environment, it can improve an organization’s environmental performance in many ways. This improved performance comes at a cost to the organization, a cost which can be recovered by aggressively seeking benefits.
Some of those benefits are as follows:
All environmental policies and procedures are now in a consistent format
All documents are now easily accessible to employees so compliance has improved
Regularly scheduled EMS reviews are ensuring both legal and ethical obligations are met in a timely fashion.
Increased Profits
The quantity of materials and energy required for manufacturing a product may be reduced, thereby reducing the cost of the product, material handling costs, and waste disposal costs.
An EMS can help reduce incidents of pollution and the associated expense of recovery.
Recycling manufacturing waste and unused inputs could increase revenues. Recycling need not be within the same facility, but with another one that can use the waste as input to their production.
Employee health and safety can be improved, thereby improving productivity, decreasing sick days, and reducing insurable risk.
Insurance claims may be reduced, thus reducing the costs of coverage and settlements.
This is just a sample of the benefits available to business; the list of benefits and potential benefits is considerably larger.
Posted in Carbon accounting, carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Carbon management, carbon reduction, Carbon Reduction Commitment, Climate Change, CO2, CSR, Environmental accounting, Footprint, ghg emissions, Iso14001, Social Responsibility | 
Tags: Benefits, Business, carbon reduction, Change, Climate, Corporate, CSR, EMS, Enterprise, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, environmental management system, Global, Green, Greenhouse, ISO 14001, Management, Money, Social, Social Responsibility, Solutions | 
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The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme – A Review
We are now well on the road to the end of the first year of the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.
We’ve had the scare stories, the organisations failing to register, or fewer organisations registering than were first thought. Early estimates from the Government suggested 5000 plus organisations would be full participants with a further 20,000 as information disclosures.
We’ve had just over 3,700 full participants register, what does this communicate to us?
For me, based on my research, it tells me that a lot of organisations were confused as to what they needed to do. For example, a car dealership, an example Defra used in their literature, if that dealership was a single franchise, SEAT for example, then if a single SEAT dealer anywhere else in the UK had a half hour meter then ALL SEAT dealerships and SEAT companies were in, under the banner of SEAT, who had the responsibility of collating this information. That’s nice and simple, until you then look at if that same dealership had say SEAT and VW at the same premises, they’re out? Add to that the ability to register independently so the SEAT brand did not have to account for everything that traded under its name . . . confused . . . therein lies the problem!
At least the Con/Dem co-alition government has pushed back the full implementation of phase 1 of the CRC by 12 months, the same for Phase 2.They are also looking at making the scheme simpler, firstly by making it a Tax, no payments from the pot for those that reduce emissions the most, Good or Bad?
For me it’s a bit of good and bad, organisations no longer being rewarded for reducing emissions will need to find some other motivation to reduce emissions! The good side is that it is giving these organisation more time to get to grips with the scheme, however, as experience has shown, a lot of organisation left it to the last minute before registering for the CRC, will they do the same again?
Initially Phase 1 reporting is primarily about Scope 1 & 2 emissions, Scope 1 being based on energy you produce, for example if you had a wind turbine and selling electricity back to the grid, Scope 2 is for energy you purchase.
However Phase 2 of the CRC is interesting, as it suggests that Scope 3 emissions will be included in a company’s declaration, a good way of introducing mandatory emissions reporting for all via the back door. Scope 3 covers everything from Travel to Suppliers.
If we look at suppliers for a large organisation, this could easily be in the thousands, a local authority I recently met with, have in excess of 5000 suppliers, under phase 2 they will need to liaise with all 5000, collate the emissions data for those 5000 and submit under the local authorities umbrella.
This will be an administrative nightmare for the unprepared, both the supplier and the large organisation. This will mean that for those who tender for work from larger organisations it will no longer be just a tick box exercise for environmental policy, such as ISO14001, it will be a detailed report on emissions and those not able to submit such a report, will ultimately, not win any business.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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Going Green Is Not Just For Big Business-You Can Grow Profits, Too!
The world of big business is making daily headlines by “going green” after discovering that what’s good for the planet is also proving good for business.
IBM recently announced “Project Big Green,” a $1 billion initiative to reduce energy consumption by offering new lines of energy-efficient IT products.
Wal-Mart is adding solar power to more than 20 stores.
PepsiCo is buying renewable energy certificates to offset its carbon footprint. Even major banks and energy firms are being asked by shareholders to prove that they, too, are going green.
It’s not just the biggest businesses that are attracting new customers and shareholders and reaping huge profits by “going green.” Small businesses also are growing eco-profits by embracing surprisingly inexpensive strategies to add value to their products, services and brand.
Consider these innovative examples:
- Bob Smith of Mad River Brewing Company in Blue Lake, California, has attracted positive publicity (and new customers) by promoting his efforts to reduce his small firm’s waste output and take other environmentally conscious steps. In turn, he has received welcome positive publicity from the press. “What PR budget? That is our PR budget,” he told the Albuquerque Tribune about “going green” to market his business.
- In Florida, Natalie Kelly formed Home Therapy Cleaning Services, which uses only nontoxic, all-natural cleaning products for her home cleaning business. She used to sell aromatherapy candles from her home, she told the St. Petersburg Times, but today uses an aromatherapy baking soda blend to freshen carpets.
Here’s what you can do:
- Two inexpensive ways any small business or solo entrepreneur can go green are to change light bulbs to energy-efficient bulbs and use biodegradable cleaning products.
- With that done, tell your customers and the media about these simple ways to go green. You will have just earned instant credibility as a green business, and also as a media resource for simple, effective ways to “go green.”
- Many communities online and offline are forming networks to exchange energy-saving ideas for home and business. Form your own energy network, enlisting neighborhood businesses that will welcome another opportunity to show they’re going green, too. The plus for you is that you will have just positioned yourself and your business as a community environmental leader.
-Write a “green” article on simple ways you are going green and submit it to one of the dozens of “green” Web sites and blogs that invite reader contributions. It’s a great way to market your smart ideas and your business!
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Energy Efficiency Report shows SME’s missing out
Npower has revealed new research that shows over half of small to medium sized businesses (SMEs) have no measures in place to monitor energy efficiency, despite many of them seeking ways to manage the bottom line in tough economic conditions.
The findings from the latest npower Business Energy Index (nBEI) show that 53% of the 4.8 million* SMEs in the UK have no methods in place to manage business energy efficiency, and nearly one in five (18%) didn’t know if they had reduced their energy consumption over the past 12 months.
This is despite figures from the report showing that where energy efficiency is being measured, 50% of SMEs reported savings of up to 10%, showing there is huge scope to make significant business savings, while also reducing carbon emissions.
Statistics from the Carbon Trust also highlight the potential for SMEs to reduce emissions further. The Trust found that SMEs have a potential energy saving opportunity of up to 20%, compared to 8% for large businesses.
Patrick Harvey, head of customer loyalty at npower, said: “This year’s npower Business Energy Index found that for SMEs, the greatest driver for increasing energy efficiency is cost, rather than the environment. This is why it is surprising that so many are still not measuring the positive impact that implementing energy efficiency measures can have on their business.
“The results of the research show the huge untapped potential for SMEs to both reduce emissions and increase savings”
However, encouragingly, overall the nBEI found that the importance SMEs place on energy management and efficiency is at its highest level since 2005. When asked to rate the significance of energy management to their business out of 10, SMEs gave an average score of 6.7, which is up from just over 5 when the Index began.
Coupled with this, many reported to be proactively measuring their energy usage and recognising the payback of low-cost, quick-win measures such as turning equipment off, which was ranked as the most popular action over the past six months. This was followed by regularly monitoring consumption and reducing heat loss.
Patrick Harvey continued: “It is really encouraging that energy efficiency is working its way up the business agenda but there’s still a long way to go.
“More businesses need to realise that through simple to implement and low or no cost measures, they can lower their bills by around 10%. In today’s tough operating environment this is a saving that SMEs can’t afford to over overlook. This is why we’ve developed SmartStart – a toolkit and advice service which helps SMEs get energy saving measures up and running and gets them saving on their bills quickly. Smaller businesses don’t have to rely on their landlords or have a big team in place to identify and implement energy saving measures”
This report from Npower does not come as a surprise to me, most Small business believe that they would need to invest serious amounts of cash to reap the rewards of efficiency saving efficiencies. This is simply not the case.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
Posted in Carbon accounting, carbon emissions, Carbon footprint, Carbon management, carbon reduction, Carbon Reduction Commitment, CRC, CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, Energy, Energy Efficiency | Tags: Business, carbon reduction, cost reduction, Emissions, Energy, energy efficiency, energy savings, Environment, ENVIRONMENTAL, Footprint | No Comments »
Ignorance is NO Excuse!
The amount of times I hear business owners say ” I didn’t know we needed to be” or ” I thought it only applied to large companies” is staggering. There really is no excuse for not knowing about what environmental legislation affects their business. The buck stops with them!
A recent case concerning Anderton Concrete Products Ltd highlights this ignorance, the following is directly from the EA:
Concrete company fails to comply with packaging regulations
Leicestershire concrete manufacturer ordered to pay over £50,000 fines and costs for failing to register and recycle packaging waste.
Anderton Concrete Products Ltd, pleaded guilty today (28 Jan 2011) at Coalville Magistrates’ Court to 18 offences under the Packaging Regulations, and asked for a further 12 to be taken into account.
The organisation was fined £36,000, ordered to pay £5,712.55 in costs, £8,408 in compensation, and a £15 victim surcharge.
The company, of Leicester Road, Ibstock, Leicestershire, should have been registered with the Environment Agency or a compliance scheme since the year 2000 and was obliged to recover and recycle packaging waste, as well as filing a certificate at the end of each year to confirm it had met these obligations.
However, the company did not register with a compliance scheme until 2010.
The court heard a routine check by the Environment Agency in January 2010 established that the company should have been registered in previous years.
The company’s explanation for failing to comply with the packaging waste regulations was that it was unaware that it was an obligated company under the regulations.
By failing to register, the company had avoided fees and other costs of £23,615.
Speaking after the case an Environment Officer said: “The packaging regulations are designed to reduce the amount of packaging used by businesses and increase the amount of packaging waste recycled. This case highlights the need for businesses to make sure they understand their responsibility.”
In mitigation, the court heard that the company had entered an early guilty plea, had cooperated fully with the investigation and were not aware that the company were obligated under the regulations. It was an oversight not a deliberate intention to evade the regulations. In addition, the company is now fully compliant.
The charges were brought by the Environment Agency under the Producer Responsibility Obligations (Packaging Waste) Regulations 1997, 2005 and 2007 (as amended).
As you can see, not knowing really is a costly business.
At Be seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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EU report supports Mandatory Emissions Reporting
The EU should implement mandatory GHG Emissions reporting framework for businesses, according to a recent study published by the European Commission’s environment department.
The 239-page study conducted by consultancy ERM analyses a range of corporate carbon reporting methodologies. Of the 80 in use globally, nine are assessed in detail including ISO 14064:2006 and the French Bilan Carbone method.
ERM identifies problems in the existing voluntary approach, not least that the results of different methodologies cannot be easily compared. Few methods fully integrate corporate target setting, and guidance is often missing for specific sectors.
A major GHG reporting scheme such as the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP) is more suited for large companies and does not oblige firms to report CO2 from their supply chains, called scope 3 emissions in the first round of CRC implementation. Although phase 2 does infact suggest that scope 3 emissions will be included. However, Its reliability may also be questionable, as participants are not required to verify their emissions, says ERM.
Any new scheme backed by the EU would have “a significant risk of low uptake” if it is only voluntary, according to the consultancy. This is partly because leading ones, such as the carbon dsiclosure project, are widely used in some sectors already. The UK government published revised voluntary reporting guidelines in Spetember 2009, with the Scottish governments Zero Waste plan requesting that public sector organisation report their emissions voluntarily from Jan 2011.
To maximise participation rates and ensure a level playing field, a mandatory approach will be needed, says ERM. A new scheme must also include “strong measures aimed at setting corporate GHG reduction targets”.
This year, 2011, the commission will publish a corporate environmental impact assessment method which will take into account the study’s advice on carbon emissions. An impact assessment method for products will also be published ahead of the 2012 review of the EU’s sustainable consumption and production strategy.
Mandatory emissions reporting is now a question of when rather than if.
Following the UK governements report in December 2010 to parliament on how effective reporting is in the battle of emissions reduction it seems certain that we will see the introduction of legislation of some sort to enforce reporting. The Climate Change Act 2008 requires this legislation to be inplace by 6th April 2012, or an explanation why it hasn’t been introduced. The mechanism for reporting will be the companies act 2006, section 416 (4), the directors report.
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CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme confusion for Glasgow Business
One in five Glasgow businesses registered for the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme may have got it wrong, according to research.
The scheme, which had a deadline of September 30 to sign up to, has already been branded ‘too complex’ by the Committee on Climate Change, although the Coalition government have suggested they are looking at simplifying the scheme. One step they have already taken is to change it to a “carbon tax” with all monies collected remaining with the treasury.
A leading energy firm has polled many financial directors in the UK, revealing 23% found the process confusing., and that’s just the initial preparation for Phase 1, what’s it going to be like for phase 2 when organisations will be required to provide declarations for their supply chain as well as their own. Just imagine an organisation with 5-10,000 suppliers, they will have to contact each and everyone to gather the suppliers emissions data.
Another 24% of the Finance Directors also reported issues with compiling data from multiple sites across their business, and one in 10 didn’t fully understand what was required of them to complete registration. This is highlighted by the fact that many Franchisors failed to collect adequate information, or indeed realise that they were required to, from their franchisee’ a perfect example here are car manufacturers failing to collate information from their dealerships!
Dave Lewis, of npower said: “If collecting the required information together was problematic, then going forward, many may well find the ongoing obligations of the scheme equally challenging.
“This confusion could also explain the high number of businesses that have left completing CRC registration to the last minute and are unsure if they have submitted the correct data.
The Environment Agency, the body overseeing the introduction of the scheme, have admitted many organisations found the CRC complicated and have promised to simplify it.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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Mandatroy Emissions Reporting Update
Government is set a to consult on mandatory carbon reporting
Defra said the consultation would look at options “from voluntary through to mandatory reporting” and would last eight weeks. Under the 2008 Climate Change Act, the Government has to introduce mandatory reporting for listed companies by April 2012 or explain to Parliament why it is not doing so.
The Financial Times recently reported that ministers were set to “water down” the rules in an effort to cut down on red tape. It said the Government was considering whether to limit the system to large companies only. It is one of the pledges of the Coalition to cut the regulatory burden on business.
Defra said it has been speaking to “a wide range of interested groups” on the issue, including the Department of Energy and Climate Change, Business, Innovation and Skills, investors, NGOs and business organisations, such as the Aldersgate Group.
“Small businesses are acutely sensitive to regulation and a system of carbon reporting would need to be found for SMEs that uses existing records, such as utility bills, to calculate a firm’s carbon emissions to keep the administrative burden to a minimum,” said Francis Wood, environmental and climate policy advisor at the FSB.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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Recycling: It Really Is Simple, Try It
There is actually a lot of things that you can recycle: Electrical & Electronic equipment, Water, Energy, Paper, Metal, Aluminium Cans, Glass, Plastic, Styrofoam, Steel, & even junk mail. All of these things, as you know, could end up in a landfill or even worse, in the sea.
The basics of Recycling is to collect items that have been used and reprocess. Allowing them to be used againand again; simple?
Of course you don’t do this yourself, or could you? When folks recycle, pretty much means that energy is saved. When a manufacturing company decides to make new stuff out of old stuff, it saves a lot of energy. A good example of this would be the recycling of cardboard, used in hospital bedpans for example; all of the carboard in the bedpans is recycled & can be recycled again.
By Recycling you not only make this planet a better place to live, but also reduce pollution & improve environmental conditions. By simply recycling as much as we can, you help prevent the global climate change, reduce greenhouse gases and cut the amount of fuel used!
By doing all this, it leads to us and companies saving natural resources. For example: If the all the tabloid newspapers were to recycle all of the newspapers that they print every single day, there wouldn’t be the need to cut & kill a thousand trees a day.
Trees in different rain forests are being cut down at an alarming rate, according to some researchers we could see no more trees left in a few years time, though how accurate that statement is I do not know, but it stands to reason that if you continue to take more than you put back eventually you will be left with nothing. This is the same with all fossil fuels as well.
Not only are you helping the world, but you’re saving money!
It is expensive to start production on new products with new materials, manufacturers are going to want that money reimbursed so they can continue making the expensive products. When you buy things that are recycled, it’s obviously cheaper to make, though the marketeers of the large manufacturers would have us believe otherwise, greenwashing at it’s worst! In effect we should be able to buy recycled goods for a low price. Even when you think about it, all the waste & rubbish that isn’t recycled is taking up space in landfills, which are fast becoming full.
Whatever you may think about recycling, be it, in your opinion, another “hippie” movement, at be motivated to do your part, the alternatives, fines for not recycling and destruction of our world as we know it, it unthinkable. No One is saying you have to become obsessed with it, all that is being suggested is that every little bit you can do is a step in the right direction. The Earth has provided a place to live, grow food, provide raw materials, it’s our turn to think and act responsibly to ensure it continues to do so for future generations.
Recycling is simple, whether it be at home or in the office. Take a look around and look at how much waste that is “thrown” in the bin. Almost all office waste can be recycled simply, it just needs someone like you to get the ball rolling and it won’t just be the environment that benefits.
At Be Seen Go Green, we offer solutions for a variety of Environmental issues. Please click on the following link to contact us.
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