Reopening of CCA offers plastics companies chance to reduce CO2 emissions and energy costs
The UK government’s Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme has reopened for a limited time to new applications. A CCA is a voluntary agreement that includes targets to increase energy efficiency and reduce CO2 emissions. The scheme is provided by the UK government and BPF Energy helps to administer the CCA on behalf of the plastics industry.
In addition to reducing carbon emissions by improving productivity and energy efficiency, plastics companies that enter a CCA can also benefit financially. Most businesses in the plastics industry pay a Climate Change Levy (CCL), which is added to energy bills. If they are a participant in the BPF Energy Climate Change Agreement, businesses are entitled to exemptions that reduce this levy by up to 92% for electricity and 83% for natural gas. Across the packaging and plastics sector, average savings equate to approximately £56,000 per year for electricity and £7,500 for gas.
BPF Energy advises that for applications to be financially viable, a company’s electricity spend should ideally be greater than £100k per annum (at 10p per kWh). To be eligible, companies must be a plastics processor of semi-finished or finished products.
BPF Energy Technical Director Peter Haslop said: “Entering into a CCA is a wise choice for many companies, as it helps them to meet carbon reduction targets while improving productivity and reducing their energy bills. The scheme has only reopened for a brief period of time, so we encourage interested plastics manufacturers to get in touch with BPF Energy as soon as possible.”
BPF Energy is hosting a webinar about the benefits of entering a CCA on 25 January 2022. To register for the webinar, visit the British Plastics Federation (BPF) website.
The CCA scheme reopened in December 2021 and the deadline for applications is 31 March 2022. However, BPF Energy advises companies to begin the application process at least one month prior to this. To learn more, companies can either visit the BPF Energy website or email cca@bpf.co.uk.