Thursday 20 January 2011

Half of UK Businesses don’t know their Carbon Footprint

56% of UK businesses can not precisely report their CO2 output according to research from Siemens IT Solutions and Services and CA Technologies. The survey, conducted in November, questioned 106 executives and IT managers, who revealed that gathering data from within an organisation is the greatest challenge.

Steven Barker, Head of Government Affairs at Siemens IT Solutions and Services, said: "Carbon management is now the second currency in the boardroom. By 2012, large organisations will be taxed on energy emissions, so the need to have a full and accurate picture of their sustainability is vital. For many organisations, environmental reporting has developed well over the past few years, but is still a long way from the standards applied to financial reporting."

The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency scheme, introduced in the autumn of 2010, places a tax on carbon emissions from businesses with energy bills of more than £500,000 per year.In addition, a major challenge cited by over a quarter of organisations was how difficult it was to gather the data as it was a consuming activity and usually only reported in retrospect.

Sonny Masero said Vice President of Sustainability at CA Technologies: "Carbon and sustainability management software can play a central role in delivering sustainable business performance.This technology pulls together disparate data sources to provide a platform for action to reduce emissions and improve performance. Providing managers with accurate data is vital to demonstrate business value from the long sustainability journey and to gain the confidence of the Board. These metrics highlight the scope for rapid return on investment and help prioritise longer term investment programmes."

In November 2010, Siemens and CA Technologies formed a carbon management alliance to provide organisations with consultation and services for compliance with prevailing and emerging carbon legislation.