Wednesday 9 October 2013

Keep an eye on carbon reporting or face ‘hefty fines’

Companies have been warned they face ‘hefty fines’ if they don’t keep an eye on their new carbon reporting responsibilities.

Carbon reporting specialist Inteb said companies that fail to comply with the law by miscalculating emissions or reporting late will be made to pay for their mistakes.

From the start of this month all incorporated UK companies have been legally obliged to include a report on their greenhouse gas emissions in their annual directors’ report.

Inteb added carbon reporting should be seen as opportunity - giving businesses a competitive advantage by proving they are green, showing investors they are managing the long-term costs of greenhouse emissions and demonstrating they are using the law to drive efficiency improvements and cost reductions.

Inteb CEO, Philip Hargreaves said: “Poor carbon emissions performance can have a negative effect on both share prices and investor perceptions.

“Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has said that carbon reporting makes ‘good business sense’ and has claimed that listed businesses want a level playing field so that they can be fairly judged against each other. This is why this legislation is in place, so businesses need to consider the wider impacts of this energy initiative and use it to their advantage, rather than just viewing it as an onerous and time-consuming duty.”