Leading businesses have called for mandatory carbon reporting to remain in place amidst rumours the measures could be cut as part of tax reforms.
Last year the government consulted on widespread reforms to the carbon reporting and taxation mechanism, citing various businesses as having said the system had become convoluted and complicated with a number of systems overlapping each other.
One plan proposed by the Department of Energy and Climate Change was the abolition of the Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme, replacing it with a single reporting framework to “streamline” the way in which businesses report carbon use.
Chancellor George Osborne is widely expected to announce the results of the consultation at next week’s Budget, however in a letter published by The Independent newspaper today a number of leading businesses have called upon the government to leave the mandatory carbon reporting element untouched.
The letter argued that the introduction of mandatory reporting had provided “greater levels of board oversight and investor engagement” in efficiency issues, resulting in improved productivity.
“At a time when important international initiatives such as the Financial Stability Board’s climate-related financial disclosures taskforce are investigating the potential for greater levels of disclosure on climate related risks, it is critical that the UK retains its market-leading mandatory carbon reporting requirements in place.
“We urge the government to confirm on Budget day that this will indeed be the case,” the letter stated.
Signatories of the letter includes the likes of Aldersgate Group executive director Nick Molho, Aviva Investors chief responsible investment officer Steve Waygood, BT chief sustainability officer Niall Dunne and Sky’s head of responsible business, Fiona Ball.
Today has also seen businesses in the north of England plead with George Osborne to use next week’s budget to stimulate further deployment of renewable electricity, claiming that his “Northern Powerhouse” must be powered by renewable sources if it is to be sustainable.
