Cleaning up UK business

The Carbon Trust is an independent company funded by Government, whose role is to help the UK move to a low carbon economy by helping business and the public sector reduce carbon emissions.

What is the Carbon Trust doing to encourage the next generation of low-carbon technologies and the scientists and engineers who develop them?
One of the keys to successful low carbon innovation is combining a technology that has a lot of potential with a team that can make it a commercial success. The target market must be clearly defined and it is also vital that promising technologies receive the right type of support at various stages along the way.

The Carbon Trust offers a range of different supports for early stage technologies, which include Applied Research grants, Directed Research and an Incubator programme.

An example of a company that we have helped recently is Embley Energy, which has developed an innovative way to use floating concrete to capture wave energy for generating electricity. It is by supporting companies such as Embley Energy that we can tap into the massive energy resource that the sea offers.

Our PhotoVoltaic Directed Research is a new research and development programme worth at least £5m that aims to unlock the potential of organic photovoltaic technology to deliver solar energy at radically lower costs.

And finally, the clean technology start-up Lontra is one of the companies benefiting from our Incubator programme. We use the programme to offer essential commercialisation support like market analysis, business planning and mentoring for low carbon technology start-ups looking to attract investor funding. Lontra is a great example of a company that we have helped move from being a good idea to commercial reality – we awarded the company a £170,000 Applied Research grant to support the development of its groundbreaking compressor technology. Since then has it has moved through the various stages of business growth and is now part of our incubator programme.

What are the reasons behind your proposals for a UK-based ETS, independent of the EU?
Currently the EU ETS only covers a select few businesses that are very energy intensive, which means that any increases in carbon emissions from non-traded sectors need to be compensated for by the traded sectors. Introducing a UK-focused mandatory cap and trade scheme will create a real driver to improve the energy efficiency of those sectors which are expected to experience a high growth in carbon emissions such as the service sector and less-energy intensive manufacturers.

In all, this new scheme is expected to cover up to 5,000 large organisations (both in the private and public sector) and have emissions coverage of ~50MtCO2. This scheme will help to increase the transparency of energy use across these sectors and increase management attention on carbon emissions reduction.

The Carbon Trust advocates a simple straightforward scheme with no red tape and our recommendation for an auction-based trading scheme was taken forward by Government. The UK Government is currently consulting on the detail of how the proposed scheme, known as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), can best be implemented – the earliest it is likely to be put in place is 2010.

There has been some controversy in the past over the Carbon Trust’s methods of assessing the carbon footprints of individual products. What is being done to counteract any concerns?
The launch of the pilot phase of the carbon reduction label for products and its underlying methodology raised questions and caused debate, however the process has from the very beginning been a collaborative one. If it is to succeed it has to have buy-in from across the board.

We currently have two independent Steering Groups, one which is overseeing the development of a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) to measure the GHG emissions embodied in products and services, in line with BSI British Standards processes; and another that will advise in the development of a reduction and communication framework to define what is reduction of product GHG emissions as well as consistent ways of communicating “carbon footprint” (embodied GHG emissions) and reduction information. Both Steering groups are chaired by Professor Jim Skea, Director of the UK Energy Research Centre. The steering groups are made up of expert stakeholders who have been selected from business, government, NGOs, consumer groups, industry bodies and academia already undertaking work within this area.

The BSI process is an open and consultative process aimed at getting maximum stakeholder input. The first phase of consultation (currently in process) is a technical consultation within which the steering group will gain comment and insight on the technical detail of the standard. The second phase of consultation will be launched in February 2008 and will open up the draft standard to a wider stakeholder review. The development of the reduction and communication frameworks, are also consultative.

How do you see the UK’s role in encouraging other nations to adopt an environmentally aware approach to business and industry?
The Carbon Trust works with a third of the FTSE 100, most of which have substantial direct operations outside the UK and certainly significant influences on their international supply chains. Those businesses that take a lead in reducing their emissions are thereby doing so internationally, helping encourage domestic businesses in other nations to reduce their environmental impacts in order to compete for business in their international supply chain. The ultimate incentive for business is the low carbon choices consumers make as exemplified by the launch of the Carbon Trust’s Carbon Reduction Label in response to a growing market need for action and information on carbon emissions.

Also, all low carbon technology development plays in a global market. The UK has an excellent early stage technology development track record and high potential current developments include novel wave and tidal devices, and photovoltaic technologies. These systems have significant carbon saving potential for overseas markets.

With manufacturing in countries like China contributing more pollution than ever before, realistically what impact can the UK have on global carbon emissions, even if it dramatically reduces its own carbon footprint?
With regards to China’s growing carbon emissions, short of wishing we would all consume less, we can’t really complain as much of China’s manufacturing output is consumed by us in the West. The problem is that China is growing its manufacturing capacity by using increasing quantities of coal fired power, the most carbon intensive electricity there is.

Unfortunately this is also coupled with a limited focus on energy efficiency. It is therefore a fair assumption that a manufactured product coming out of China will have a higher carbon footprint than equivalent products manufactured in the West, as China continues to use coal as an abundant and cheap energy source. There is however the future prospect of carbon capture and storage sequestering the carbon dioxide from this coal, which comes at a cost. How this cost should be borne is the big question.

From a personal standpoint, what initially drew you to become involved with the Carbon Trust?
I was involved with the Carbon Trust from its inception and was very interested in taking an idea that was desperately needed and making it a reality. I spent 20 years working in big industries and companies and with the Carbon Trust I knew I could make a real difference.

The one thing I am most proud of is building a highly specialised and motivated team driven by a common mission, to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy. The Carbon Trust is succeeding and it’s because of the people. 

Leave a comment

Your name
Your email (will not be published)
Your comment
Rate this article