UK companies to report energy use after Brexit

Large UK companies will be forced to report power use, carbon emissions and energy efficiencies in their annual reports after Brexit, the government has announced.

It forms the central part of a new simplified and streamlined drive to make business and industry improve energy efficiency by 20% by 2030.

A previous company reporting scheme, called the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme, “was too complex for businesses”, says Reuters, and will be closed.

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The new regulations, which are due to come into force from April 2019 after Britain formally leaves the EU, will apply to any UK-based company with more than 250 employees or an annual turnover greater than £36m, the department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy said.

“Mandatory reporting like this will drive behaviour change in business, by raising awareness internally of energy efficiency,” according to Business Green, an environmental news website. The government says boosting transparency will increase the ability of investors to hold companies to account.

The government's Impact Assessment on the change predicts the simplification package is likely to save businesses £20m per year in administration costs, but add £2.1bn in capital costs, mainly due to the increased uptake of energy efficiency measures.