The Carbon Trust
Encyclopedia
The Carbon Trust is a not for dividend
company limited by guarantee
created by the UK government to help businesses and public organisations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide
into the atmosphere, through improved energy efficiency and developing commercial low carbon technology. Its stated mission is to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy.
The Carbon Trust's core activity consists of helping companies and organisations reduce carbon emissions through providing help, support and advice. The Trust estimates in its annual report 2008 that it saves UK business £1 million a day through the cost savings reducing carbon emissions brings.
, wave energy, wind energy
, solar energy, biomass
and biofuels sectors. Unusually for a government sponsored organisation it operates venture capital
funds - in this case in the early-stage low carbon technology sector.
It finances a number of loan
funds - including an interest-free loan for small and medium sized enterprises
for energy-efficient equipment in Wales & Northern Ireland, a similar scheme for the public sector covering the whole of the UK, and from April 2011 an Energy efficiency financing scheme in partnership with Siemens
worth around £550 million. In the year ending March 2012, the trust is receiving funding of around £50 million from the Department of Energy and Climate Change
, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
, the Scottish Government, the National Assembly for Wales
, and Invest Northern Ireland
.
It was originally partly funded from the Climate Change Levy
, a tax on electricity, gas, and coal.
on public sector land
and Low Carbon Workplace which funds and develops the low carbon refurbishment of buildings.
. Measuring the embodied emissions of products enables reductions to be identified and achieved across the supply chain. The label demonstrates a commitment by the product owner to reduce that footprint every 2 years. The Carbon Reduction Label
was introduced for the first time, in the UK in March 2007.
Examples of products featuring their carbon footprint in the UK are Walkers
Crisps, a range of own brand products in Tesco
supermarkets, Halifax (HBOS
) bank accounts, Dyson
airblades, Marshalls
building products, Kingsmill bread, Quaker oats, Silver Spoon sugar, Tate & Lyle
sugar and La Farge cement.
The standards behind carbon labelling are now formally recognised through the PAS 2050 developed by the Carbon Trust in conjunction with BSI
and Defra. This methodology is now gaining international acceptance following its launch in October 2008.
. The carbon standard is only awarded to companies and organisations who measure and reduce their carbon emissions year on year. The Standard will also play a part in the introduction of the government's Carbon Reduction Commitment
which is due to be introduced in 2010. Achievement of the Standard will help companies demonstrate robust early action in the scheme.
Twelve organisations received the standard in the first round - these included Morrisons
supermarkets, B&Q
, Dfid, University of Central Lancashire
, Thames Water
and Trinity Mirror
. As of May 2009 seventy organisations had achieved the Standard, including BT Group
, Kyocera
, Barclays Capital
, Hewlett Packard, University of Manchester
, Citrica, Ricoh
, Diageo
and O2. By February 2011 over 500 organisations had achieved the Standard including Tesco
, Mothercare
, Moss Plastics, Manchester United, Serco, Linklaters
, Bolton Wanderers Football Club, British Land
and Motorola
.
companies can also demonstrate early action through an 'equivalent mark' http://www.decc.gov.uk/Media/viewfile.ashx?FilePath=What%20we%20do\A%20low%20carbon%20UK\crc\1_20100219140648_e_@@_ctsequivalentsguidance.pdf&filetype=4 Carbon Trust Equivalent Scheme Document. Subject to approval by The Environment Agency, this will allow equal early action credits to be received by bearers of these marks under the government's Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme.
and management consultancies McKinsey
and A.T. Kearney
.
The current Chairman is James Smith
, formerly Chairman of Shell
UK.
Dividend
Dividends are payments made by a corporation to its shareholder members. It is the portion of corporate profits paid out to stockholders. When a corporation earns a profit or surplus, that money can be put to two uses: it can either be re-invested in the business , or it can be distributed to...
company limited by guarantee
Company limited by guarantee
In British and Irish company law, a private company limited by guarantee is an alternative type of corporation used primarily for non-profit organisations that require legal personality. A guarantee company does not usually have a share capital or shareholders, but instead has members who act as...
created by the UK government to help businesses and public organisations to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide
Carbon dioxide is a naturally occurring chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom...
into the atmosphere, through improved energy efficiency and developing commercial low carbon technology. Its stated mission is to accelerate the move to a low carbon economy.
The Carbon Trust's core activity consists of helping companies and organisations reduce carbon emissions through providing help, support and advice. The Trust estimates in its annual report 2008 that it saves UK business £1 million a day through the cost savings reducing carbon emissions brings.
Funds and financing
The Carbon Trust also funds the development and deployment of low carbon technologies and is actively engaged in the fuel cellFuel cell
A fuel cell is a device that converts the chemical energy from a fuel into electricity through a chemical reaction with oxygen or another oxidizing agent. Hydrogen is the most common fuel, but hydrocarbons such as natural gas and alcohols like methanol are sometimes used...
, wave energy, wind energy
Wind energy
Wind energy is the kinetic energy of air in motion; see also wind power.Total wind energy flowing through an imaginary area A during the time t is:E = ½ m v2 = ½ v 2...
, solar energy, biomass
Biomass
Biomass, as a renewable energy source, is biological material from living, or recently living organisms. As an energy source, biomass can either be used directly, or converted into other energy products such as biofuel....
and biofuels sectors. Unusually for a government sponsored organisation it operates venture capital
Venture capital
Venture capital is financial capital provided to early-stage, high-potential, high risk, growth startup companies. The venture capital fund makes money by owning equity in the companies it invests in, which usually have a novel technology or business model in high technology industries, such as...
funds - in this case in the early-stage low carbon technology sector.
It finances a number of loan
Loan
A loan is a type of debt. Like all debt instruments, a loan entails the redistribution of financial assets over time, between the lender and the borrower....
funds - including an interest-free loan for small and medium sized enterprises
Small business
A small business is a business that is privately owned and operated, with a small number of employees and relatively low volume of sales. Small businesses are normally privately owned corporations, partnerships, or sole proprietorships...
for energy-efficient equipment in Wales & Northern Ireland, a similar scheme for the public sector covering the whole of the UK, and from April 2011 an Energy efficiency financing scheme in partnership with Siemens
Siemens
Siemens may refer toSiemens, a German family name carried by generations of telecommunications industrialists, including:* Werner von Siemens , inventor, founder of Siemens AG...
worth around £550 million. In the year ending March 2012, the trust is receiving funding of around £50 million from the Department of Energy and Climate Change
Department of Energy and Climate Change
The Department of Energy and Climate Change is a British government department created on 3 October 2008 by Prime Minister Gordon Brown to take over some of the functions of the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform and Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs...
, the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
Department for Business, Innovation and Skills
The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills is a ministerial department of the United Kingdom Government created on 5 June 2009 by the merger of the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills and the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform .-Ministers:The BIS...
, the Scottish Government, the National Assembly for Wales
National Assembly for Wales
The National Assembly for Wales is a devolved assembly with power to make legislation in Wales. The Assembly comprises 60 members, who are known as Assembly Members, or AMs...
, and Invest Northern Ireland
Invest Northern Ireland
Invest Northern Ireland is Northern Ireland's regional economic development agency. It is a non-departmental public body of the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment...
.
It was originally partly funded from the Climate Change Levy
Climate Change Levy
The Climate Change Levy is a tax on energy delivered to non-domestic users in the United Kingdom. Its aim is to provide an incentive to increase energy efficiency and to reduce carbon emissions, however there have been ongoing calls to replace it with a proper carbon tax.-Scope and...
, a tax on electricity, gas, and coal.
Partnership for Renewables
It also has created a number of subsidiary companies such as Partnership for Renewables which develops renewable energyRenewable energy
Renewable energy is energy which comes from natural resources such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides, and geothermal heat, which are renewable . About 16% of global final energy consumption comes from renewables, with 10% coming from traditional biomass, which is mainly used for heating, and 3.4% from...
on public sector land
Public land
In all modern states, some land is held by central or local governments. This is called public land. The system of tenure of public land, and the terminology used, varies between countries...
and Low Carbon Workplace which funds and develops the low carbon refurbishment of buildings.
Carbon Label
The Carbon Trust Footprinting Company, formerly the Label Company, is the subsidiary company that helps companies to measure the carbon emissions associated with their products (embodied emissions) and also provides a label for these products carbon footprintCarbon footprint
A carbon footprint has historically been defined as "the total set of greenhouse gas emissions caused by an organization, event, product or person.". However, calculating a carbon footprint which conforms to this definition is often impracticable due to the large amount of data required, which is...
. Measuring the embodied emissions of products enables reductions to be identified and achieved across the supply chain. The label demonstrates a commitment by the product owner to reduce that footprint every 2 years. The Carbon Reduction Label
Carbon emission label
A carbon emission label or carbon label describes the carbon dioxide emissions created as a by-product of manufacturing, transporting, or disposing of a consumer product...
was introduced for the first time, in the UK in March 2007.
Examples of products featuring their carbon footprint in the UK are Walkers
Walkers (snack foods)
Walkers is a British snack food manufacturer operating mainly in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland and to a lesser extent on the European continent. They are best known for manufacturing crisps. They hold 47 per cent of the British crisp market...
Crisps, a range of own brand products in Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
supermarkets, Halifax (HBOS
HBOS
HBOS plc is a banking and insurance company in the United Kingdom, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Lloyds Banking Group having been taken over in January 2009...
) bank accounts, Dyson
Dyson
-People:*Andre Dyson , an American football player*Charles W. Dyson , a U.S. Navy rear admiral*Esther Dyson , consultant and philosopher in emerging digital technology, the daughter of Freeman Dyson...
airblades, Marshalls
Marshalls
Marshalls, Inc., is a chain of American department stores owned by TJX Companies. Marshalls has over 750 conventional stores, as well as larger stores named Marshalls Mega Store, covering 42 states and Puerto Rico. Marshalls expanded into Canada in March 2011...
building products, Kingsmill bread, Quaker oats, Silver Spoon sugar, Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle
Tate & Lyle plc is a British-based multinational agribusiness. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index as of 20 June 2011...
sugar and La Farge cement.
The standards behind carbon labelling are now formally recognised through the PAS 2050 developed by the Carbon Trust in conjunction with BSI
BSI
BSI is a three letter acronym that can stand for:* Backside illumination, a type of digital image sensor* The Baker Street Irregulars, a fictional group featured in Sherlock Holmes stories* Banca della Svizzera Italiana* Bentley Systems Inc....
and Defra. This methodology is now gaining international acceptance following its launch in October 2008.
Carbon Trust Standard
In June 2008 the Carbon Trust introduced the Carbon Trust Standard to address what it describes as business greenwashGreenwash
Greenwashing , or "green sheen", is a form of spin in which green PR or green marketing is deceptively used to promote the perception that a company's policies or products are environmentally friendly.-Usage:...
. The carbon standard is only awarded to companies and organisations who measure and reduce their carbon emissions year on year. The Standard will also play a part in the introduction of the government's Carbon Reduction Commitment
Carbon Reduction Commitment
The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is a mandatory cap and trade scheme in the United Kingdom that will apply to large non energy-intensive organisations in the public and private sectors. It has been estimated that the scheme will reduce carbon emissions by 1.2 million tonnes of carbon per year by...
which is due to be introduced in 2010. Achievement of the Standard will help companies demonstrate robust early action in the scheme.
Twelve organisations received the standard in the first round - these included Morrisons
Morrisons
Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc is the fourth largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, headquartered in Bradford, West Yorkshire, England. The company is usually referred to and is branded as Morrisons formerly Morrison's, and it is part of the FTSE 100 Index of companies...
supermarkets, B&Q
B&Q
B&Q plc is a multinational DIY and home improvement retailer headquartered in Eastleigh, United Kingdom. It was founded in 1969 and is a wholly owned subsidiary of Kingfisher plc, which is listed on the London Stock Exchange....
, Dfid, University of Central Lancashire
University of Central Lancashire
The University of Central Lancashire is a university based in Preston, Lancashire, England.The university has its roots in The Institution For The Diffusion Of Useful Knowledge which was founded in 1828. In 1992 it was granted University status by the Privy Council...
, Thames Water
Thames Water
Thames Water Utilities Ltd, known as Thames Water, is the private utility company responsible for the public water supply and waste water treatment in large parts of Greater London, the Thames Valley, Surrey, Gloucestershire, Wiltshire, Kent, and some other areas of in the United Kingdom...
and Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror
Trinity Mirror plc is a large British newspaper and magazine publisher. It is Britain's biggest newspaper group, publishing 240 regional papers as well as the national Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and People, and the Scottish Sunday Mail and Daily Record. Its headquarters are at Canary Wharf in...
. As of May 2009 seventy organisations had achieved the Standard, including BT Group
BT Group
BT Group plc is a global telecommunications services company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is one of the largest telecommunications services companies in the world and has operations in more than 170 countries. Through its BT Global Services division it is a major supplier of...
, Kyocera
Kyocera
is a multinational manufacturer based in Kyoto, Japan. It was founded as in 1959 by Kazuo Inamori and renamed in 1982. The company has diversified its founding technology in ceramic materials through internal development as well as strategic mergers and acquisitions...
, Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital
Barclays Capital is a global British investment bank. It is the investment banking division of Barclays plc which has a balance sheet of over £1.2 trillion . Barclays Capital provides financing and risk management services to large companies, institutions and government clients. It is a primary...
, Hewlett Packard, University of Manchester
University of Manchester
The University of Manchester is a public research university located in Manchester, United Kingdom. It is a "red brick" university and a member of the Russell Group of research-intensive British universities and the N8 Group...
, Citrica, Ricoh
Ricoh
or Ricoh, is a Japanese company that was established in 1936 on February 6th, as , a company in the RIKEN zaibatsu. Its headquarters is located in Ricoh Building in Chūō, Tokyo....
, Diageo
Diageo
Diageo plc is a global alcoholic beverages company headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is the world's largest producer of spirits and a major producer of beer and wine....
and O2. By February 2011 over 500 organisations had achieved the Standard including Tesco
Tesco
Tesco plc is a global grocery and general merchandise retailer headquartered in Cheshunt, United Kingdom. It is the third-largest retailer in the world measured by revenues and the second-largest measured by profits...
, Mothercare
Mothercare
Mothercare plc is a British retailer which specialises in products for expectant mothers and in general merchandise for children up to 8 years old. It is listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.-History:...
, Moss Plastics, Manchester United, Serco, Linklaters
Linklaters
Linklaters LLP is a global law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom and a member of the 'Magic Circle' of leading UK law firms. Linklaters is the world's fourth largest global law firm by revenue. In 2009/10 it received total revenues of £1.18 billion and profits per equity partner of £1.2...
, Bolton Wanderers Football Club, British Land
British Land
The British Land Company plc is one of the largest property development and investment companies in the United Kingdom. The firm switched to Real Estate Investment Trust status when REITs were introduced in the United Kingdom in January 2007. It is headquartered in London...
and Motorola
Motorola
Motorola, Inc. was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois, which was eventually divided into two independent public companies, Motorola Mobility and Motorola Solutions on January 4, 2011, after losing $4.3 billion from 2007 to 2009...
.
Equivalent Scheme
As part of the implementation of the Carbon Reduction CommitmentCarbon Reduction Commitment
The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme is a mandatory cap and trade scheme in the United Kingdom that will apply to large non energy-intensive organisations in the public and private sectors. It has been estimated that the scheme will reduce carbon emissions by 1.2 million tonnes of carbon per year by...
companies can also demonstrate early action through an 'equivalent mark' http://www.decc.gov.uk/Media/viewfile.ashx?FilePath=What%20we%20do\A%20low%20carbon%20UK\crc\1_20100219140648_e_@@_ctsequivalentsguidance.pdf&filetype=4 Carbon Trust Equivalent Scheme Document. Subject to approval by The Environment Agency, this will allow equal early action credits to be received by bearers of these marks under the government's Carbon Reduction Commitment scheme.
Staff
The current Chief Executive is Tom Delay, who came to the trust after a career with energy company ShellRoyal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
and management consultancies McKinsey
McKinsey & Company
McKinsey & Company, Inc. is a global management consulting firm that focuses on solving issues of concern to senior management. McKinsey serves as an adviser to many businesses, governments, and institutions...
and A.T. Kearney
A.T. Kearney
A.T. Kearney is a global management consulting firm, focusing on strategic and operational CEO-agenda concerns. It was founded in 1926, and its head office is in Chicago, Illinois...
.
The current Chairman is James Smith
James Smith
-Sports figures:*James Smith *James Smith , American boxer, nicknamed "Bonecrusher"*James Smith , footballer...
, formerly Chairman of Shell
Royal Dutch Shell
Royal Dutch Shell plc , commonly known as Shell, is a global oil and gas company headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands and with its registered office in London, United Kingdom. It is the fifth-largest company in the world according to a composite measure by Forbes magazine and one of the six...
UK.
Challenges
The Carbon Trust has created a number of renewable funding challenges e.g. in the offshore wind, marine and biomass areas, and most recently, the Algae Biofuels Challenge.External links
- The Carbon Trust
- Carbon Label
- Partnership for Renewables
- Carbon Trust Standard
- Carbon Trust funded research in laser ignition systems
- Introduction to the Carbon Trust, presentation in the California Air Resources BoardCalifornia Air Resources BoardThe California Air Resources Board, also known as CARB or ARB, is the "clean air agency" in the government of California. Established in 1967 in the Mulford-Carrell Act, combining the Bureau of Air Sanitation and the Motor Vehicle Pollution Control Board, CARB is a department within the...
´s Air Pollution Seminar Series.