London, UK: The UK Climate Change Agreement scheme has been extended to allow more businesses to join.
The voluntary scheme currently provides those companies in the members of the cold storage Climate Change Agreement with a collective £10m saving every year.
Previously due to end in 2023 and closed to new entrants, the government announced in March that the scheme will be extended until 2025 and reopened for new applications.
The Cold Chain Federation has responded to the government’s consultation supporting the scheme’s extension.
The Climate Change Agreement scheme was set up in 2001 with businesses signing up to meet targets for improving the energy-efficiency of their sites in return for a discount on their Climate Change Levy bills. The Cold Chain Federation administers the only scheme for cold storage businesses.
More than 400 sites are already signatories to the cold storage Climate Change Agreement. Collectively, they have made a 16% improvement in the energy efficiency of their coldstores between 2012 and 2018, beating the sector’s scheme target. As a result, the scheme has saved its cold storage signatories £10m each year in taxes. This total will increase as more sites join the scheme.
Shane Brennan, chief executive, Cold Chain Federation said: “Driving energy efficiency is good for business and good for the environment. Through our Climate Change Agreement we are leading our industry to achieve this double benefit.
“It was such a shame that we were forced to close the scheme to new entrants in 2018 and we are glad the government has been convinced to allow us to reopen to new facilities. This presents the opportunity to save money and benchmark energy performance to more businesses across the cold chain.
“We are urging business to act fast. Applying to join the cold storage CCA is straightforward but it does take time and the deadline for getting your application to us is 28th August, so we advise businesses to start the process by early July. The Cold Chain Federation administers the scheme and we can provide support and advice to cold storage businesses wanting to apply for the first time, and to those wanting to add a new facility to their existing agreement.
“This is a very difficult time for our industry but we don’t expect to see another opportunity to join this scheme or a similar one for several years, so businesses should be sure they take this opportunity now.”
For more about the scheme and how to join e-mail: info@coldchainfed.org.uk
The government consultation document can be found here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/879842/cca-extension-consultation.pdf–
