Carbon Reduction Commitment

The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme (formally known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment) is the UK's mandatory climate change and energy saving scheme. The scheme started in April 2010 and is administered by the Environment Agency. It is central to the UK's strategy for improving energy efficiency and reducing carbon dioxide emissions, as set out in the Climate Change Act 2008. It has been designed to raise awareness in large organisations, especially at senior level, and encourage changes in behaviour and infrastructure. This is vital to achieving the UK's overall targets of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 by at least 80 percent compared to the 1990 baseline.

Under this scheme, organisations which use at least one Half Hourly electricity meter and greater than 6,000 MWh of electricity per year are required to report on the CO₂ emissions associated with their total energy consumption (electricity + other energy sources) except that associated with transport or onward supply.

CRC will affect large organisations in both the public and private sector. Organisations that meet the qualification criteria (based electricity consumption in 2008), will be obliged to participate in CRC. Participating organisations will have to monitor their emissions and purchase allowances, initially sold by Government, for each tonne of CO₂ they emit. This provides a direct incentive for organisations to reduce their emissions.

In June 2011, the UK government published tentative proposals for simplifying the CRC. These proposals are due for public consultation in 2012 with a view to full implementation in 2013.

The CarbonKit pages listed in the "Pages in this Standard" tab provide data and emissions calculations based on the data and calculating methodology specified in the latest (22nd January 2010) documentation published by the Department of Energy & Climate Change.