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Press Release

Retailers call for carbon reduction league table to be scrapped

8 November 2011

The Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Performance League Table, published for the first time today (Tuesday) by the Environment Agency, is a bureaucratic burden on business which should be dropped.

The British Retail Consortium (BRC) wants the league table scrapped because changes to the CRC system mean it no longer has any real purpose. The scheme originally included financial incentives for high-performing companies which would have been decided via the table but plans for those payments have been abandoned.

The BRC says the CRC league table creates red tape for retailers without benefitting the businesses involved or the environment. It also creates confusion for consumers and investors since it doesn't act as a measure of a company's overall environmental performance.

British Retail Consortium Director of Business, Tom Ironside, said: "Responsible retailers are committed to reducing their impact on the environment and to keeping their carbon footprint to a minimum. These efforts are measured and reported on in a range of ways. The league table produced as part of the Carbon Reduction Commitment is just pointless duplication.

"Instead of being able to focus on developing environmentally friendly business approaches, retailers are being forced to spend time and resources on extra bureaucracy. This flies in the face of the Government's commitment to reducing red tape.

"The Carbon Reduction Commitment has become an extra tax on the private sector at a time when the focus should be on encouraging investment and growth. What the Government should be doing is reviewing all existing policies on energy efficiency and carbon taxes to remove duplication and ensure fairness over all."



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British Retail Consortium

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