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- 25 May 2011
UK Companies are Breaching Guidelines on Environmental Disclosure The EA’s third environmental disclosure summary revealed that only a minority of FTSE All-Share companies are providing quantitative environmental statistics in accordance with Government guidelines. Back in 2003 the Environment Agency was asked by the Government to evaluate environmental disclosures in the annual business reviews and accounts of public companies (FTSE All-Share companies) listed on the London Stock Exchange.
With the objective of establishing a baseline before the new Companies Act became law in 2006 and determine a methodology for future assessments in 2006 and 2009. The latest study revealed that environmental disclosure among FTSE All-Share companies has improved considerably since the last assessment in 2006. “99% of FTSE listed companies made qualitative environmental disclosures with 89% on waste management, 79% on pollution, 62% on climate change, 61% on environmental management systems, 57% on energy, and 57% bio-diversity and land use.” Despite the increase in environmental information disclosure, the quality of reports varies too much and in some cases is very basic. Business should report on their emissions, waste disposal to air, land and water their business gas, energy and water usage and, why not, their environmental fines. In 2006 the Department of Environment Food and Rural Affairs issued a voluntary guidance with a list of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) on which businesses can disclose information. According to the 2009-2010 EA’s environmental disclosure summary only 28% of companies surveyed followed these KPIs last year an increase from 10% in 2004. Key Findings:
The 2006 Companies Law is aimed to help companies provide relevant, comparable and reliable information through the disclosure of quantified data on environmental impacts. Only precise measurement can enable effective management and reductions of environmental impacts. Precise measurement using standard metrics can help businesses identify cost savings opportunities, productivity gains, regulatory compliance, secure business continuity and improve competitiveness. The Government and EA are urging not only big companies to report their environmental disclosure but all UK businesses and recommends that companies report on the following KPIs:
Further Information Companies who already produce reports on their sustainable development performance 2009-2010 Environmental Disclosure Summary Report.pdf Treasury Sustainability and Environmental Reporting If you would like more information on our range of energy services or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site. - 18 May 2011
Top 5 Energy Smartphone AppsHere at Catalyst our main focus is to find businesses with the most competitive business energy and business gas prices. We also strive to help businesses achieve greater energy efficiency. But overall our main wish is to help everybody lower their environmental impact by becoming more energy efficient not only at their businesses but at home too. We take a look at the top Energy Smartphone Apps on the market today for your iphone or smart phone.
Following on from our Top 10 Amazing Energy Saving Apps, In this week’s article we bring you 5 of the best energy smartphone apps for Smartphone’s. With them you will be able to control your household energy costs by reducing electricity usage, surveying home appliances and even help you change light bulbs. 1. The Meter Readings iTunes ($1.99) allows you to monitor electricity, gas, water and even includes support for solar and wind generation meters. By entering the numbers off your meters this app calculates how much energy, gas or water your house consumes each day. You can graph out the daily, monthly, or yearly usage statistics and see the trends in your energy use. For UK users only it offers a price comparison feature and even the possibility to switch energy suppliers.
2. With the Light Bulb Finder, How many apps does it take to change a light bulb? The Light Bulb Finder has the answer, watch the video and find out.
3. The TV Energy Labels iTunes ($0.99) Nowadays TV sets offer so many features that we tend to leave energy consumption aside (at least I do). With that in mind App-etiser has created the TV Energy Labels app, an app that tells you what types of televisions are the most efficient. The calculation is based on the EU regulations, meaning it is calculated that you watch television for 4 hours x 365 days/ year x €0,22 kWh. 4. With MyEnergyTips iTunes ($2.99) Not sure how to reduce your electricity usage? This app makes everything easier for you by taking the guessing out of what you can do to reduce your electricity usage and helping you define your energy saving goals. MyEnergyTips assist you in surveying your home appliances by calculating how much energy each one is consuming and recommending what you can do to save money.
5. The Green Outlet iTunes ($1.99) In short this app helps you understand how much electricity your appliances consume and how much each costs per month to run. With it you can identify which of your household appliances are costing you the most to run so you can make informed decisions about your electric use. Most of these apps provide values in US Dollars so to make your life easier we suggest you download XE Currency app, a FREE currency calculator that allows you to convert every world currency on-the-go. This app was featured on the BBC as one of the top 10 best new travel apps. source: http://www.xe.com/iphone/ If you would like more information on our range of energy services or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
Or you might want to subscribe for further updates on Energy Smartphone Apps direct from our site. - 11 May 2011
Gas Prices To Go Up 25pc Due To Extra Oil Tax Extra Oil Tax Cuts Down Profits of Oil and Gas Companies – During the 2011 Budget pronouncement, Chancellor George Osborne announced that the supplementary charge tax on UK oil and gas production was to be increased from 20pc to 32pc. Up until now oil and gas companies operating in the North Sea were rather quiet about the tax surge but have recently made public that their profits were slashed and energy and gas prices will rise.
The tax increase brought even more insecurity to the unstable UK energy industry. Big suppliers like British Gas owner Centrica, have already warned it may partially shut the UK’s biggest gas field as a result of the tax. Last Wednesday, 4th of May, CEO’s of Britain’s largest oil and gas suppliers tried to persuade the Government to abandon a £10bn tax grab on North Sea energy companies, amid warnings the levy will “utterly destroy” the industry. Speaking to the government’s cross-party Energy and Climate Change Select Committee industry representatives threatened that 30,000 jobs are at risk due to the uncertainty raised by the windfall tax. The Energy Minister, Chris Hune and Justine Greening, Economic Secretary at the Treasury who were also at the hearing stated that the effect on jobs is pure speculation, because the impact on investment was not yet known According to Greening, George Osborne used the independent Office of Budget Responsibility (OBR) analysis to calculate the tax and concluded that the effect in investment will be minor. Writing for the Telegraph, Andrew Lilico, Economist with Europe Economics, and a member of the Shadow Monetary Policy Committee said that claims by oil and gas companies that it is going to shut down the North Sea are just silly. First, let’s remember that Petroleum Revenue Taxation (PRT), including the “supplementary charge” on corporation tax that Osborne raised, isn’t like taxes on widgets or socks or ice cream. It isn’t, as with most taxes, a matter of the government confiscating a portion of someone’s property to use for government purposes (worthy or not). No – it’s the Queen’s oil, not the oil company’s. PRT is simply the way that the oil company pays the Crown for the right to take away and sell that oil. It’s an alternative to a royalty, and can be thought of in much the same way. – Andrew Lilico It is widely known that tax increases reduces incentives to invest and cut down profit margins from companies affected by the scheme. One way or another, companies find a way to pass this to the end customer in order to minimise the effects on their profit margin. Centrica has already stated that wholesale gas price for delivery next winter has gone up 25pc because of the jump in commodity prices but has not yet been passed on to customers. What baffles me about all this is that over the past two year when Brent crude oil prices surged from $80 to $125 a barrel and the profit of these Oil and Gas companies nearly doubled, they kept quiet and even managed to increase oil and gas prices due to one reason or another. Let’s not forget that the majority of the oil and gas being explored today in the North Sea is fruit of investment planning made a little over a decade ago when oil prices were around $10 per barrel. So to say that a 32pc supplementary charge will shut down the North Sea with Oil prices at $100 per barrel is frankly absurd. If you would like more information on our range of energy services or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site. - 5 May 2011
Energy Market Report May 2011 Our monthly analysis of the UK gas and power markets is now available on line for the month of May 2011. The service is intended to keep you up to date with all the major news in Europe’s gas and power markets. It is also designed to keep power executives focused on market activity in an easy to digest format.
Your find our May 2011 report here and all historical energy reports can be located here. If you would like more information on our services or would like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
Or you might want to subscribe for further updates direct from our site. - 4 May 2011
Big Fine for Companies Who Provide Inaccurate CRC Reports Time is running out for UK organisations whose half hourly electricity consumption totals more than 6,000 MWh per year (equivalent to approximately £500,000 annual spend) and are yet to compile all data for their CRC report.
Companies covered under this Energy Efficiency Scheme must provide a carbon emission report based on their annual energy consumption by the end of July, more precisely the 31st. Those who fail to meet the deadline will face severe financial penalties. For instance, companies who hand in their CRC reports after the deadline will have to pay a fine of £5,000, plus £500 for each day that the report is overdue. Inaccurate reports could cause serious damage to a business’s energy bill with increases of 5 to 10 percent. For each tonne either over or under-reported the fine is £40. For example, an organisation spending £20 million on energy could expect a fine of £1 million for a 20% error. Ouch! A more realistic example would be, an organisation with an energy bill of half a million pounds, submitted 20 days late and with a 20% error, could face a fine of £55,433 (11% extra). Recently the consultancy firm PricewaterhouseCooper conducted a research and found that only 21% of the companies interviewed were monitoring and reporting their carbon emissions. Out of the 160 companies surveyed only 67% reported that they were CRC participants. Henry Le Fleming, carbon reporting specialist at PwC, said, however, that many companies are unprepared for the process of collecting the data, having not “stress tested their processes, systems and controls”. In fact, the Carbon Commitment Reduction Scheme is not a considered scheme anymore, it is a straight forward tax intended to promote energy efficiency by the country’s largest users of energy. Companies who comply with the scheme providing accurate CRC reports will enjoy significant financial benefits in the long run, due to improved energy efficiency. If done accurately these companies could reduce energy expenditure of 10% every year. Complete information about the CRC can be found at our Carbon Commitment Reduction page. For more details about PWC’s research visit their website at: http://www.pwc.co.uk If you would like more information on our range of energy services or would simply like to find out how this could benefit your business, simply call our energy team today on 0870 710 7560 or request a call back at time to suit.
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Energy Guidelines Breached:
