CRC annual report publication: 2018 to 2019
Updated 1 June 2020
© Crown copyright 2020
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This publication is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/crc-annual-report-publications-phases-1-and-2/crc-annual-report-publication-2018-to-2019
1. Executive summary
The Environment Agency administers the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) for the UK on behalf of the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) and the devolved administrations. This is our final annual report publication (ARP) for the fifth and final compliance year of Phase 2 covering the period 1 April 2018 to 31 March 2019. This report covers energy and emissions data submitted by participants, the level of compliance and satisfaction of our customers.
Phase 2 covers energy and emissions from 2014 to 2019 and consists of 5 separate compliance years. This phase introduced several changes which means that much of the information in this report is not directly comparable to data reported in Phase 1.
The main results for Phase 2 show:
- 1,865 participants registered for 2018 to 2019 – this is a small increase in the number of participants compared to 1,840 participants in 2017 to 2018
- total energy use reported for 2018 to 2019 was 98,065,845 megawatt hours (MWh) – reduced from 103,806,596 MWh in 2017 to 2018
- total reported emissions for 2018 to 2019 were 25,732,096 tonnes of carbon dioxide (tCO2) reduced from 31,967,178 tCO2 reported in 2017 to 2018
- 99% of participants complied with the annual reporting deadline
2. Introduction
2.1 CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme
The CRC is a mandatory scheme which aimed to improve energy efficiency and cut emissions for large public and private sector energy users across the UK. The 1,865 participants registered in the scheme for 2018 to 2019 included:
- supermarkets
- water companies
- banks
- local authorities
- all central government departments
The scheme has encouraged organisations to develop energy management strategies to promote a better understanding of energy usage and improved energy efficiency.
The scheme is partially devolved across the UK. BEIS developed the CRC policy in partnership with the Scottish Government, Welsh Government and Department of Agriculture, Environment and Rural Affairs, Northern Ireland.
The Environment Agency administers important aspects of the scheme for the UK. We are also the regulator for participants whose registered office or principal place of business is in England. Participants in Scotland, Northern Ireland and Wales are regulated by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency, the Chief Inspector in the Northern Ireland Environment Agency and Natural Resources Wales.
The scheme was split into phases:
- Phase 1: 1 April 2010 to 31 March 2014
- Phase 2: 1 April 2014 to 31 March 2019
CRC participants had to monitor their energy consumption every year and report this information into the CRC Registry, an online IT system, which calculated their carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. Participants bought and surrendered ‘allowances’ to cover their emissions – one allowance for each tonne of CO2.
See more information on the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme.
3. Annual report publication
The Environment Agency produced this annual report publication (ARP) under Article 58 of the legislation establishing the scheme – the CRC Order 2013.
We developed the ARP with government departments and other regulators responsible for the design and implementation of the scheme.
The report contains:
- a spreadsheet with information for each participant
- an explanation of the spreadsheet and accompanying information on the CRC scheme
This ARP is the fifth release of information drawn from the annual reports of CRC participants. It covers the 2018 to 2019 compliance year for Phase 2, which was the final reporting year. See the previous Phase 2 and Phase 1 reports.
4. Content of the ARP
4.1 Baseline information for the ARP
This ARP is based on information entered onto the CRC Registry by scheme participants. Their annual reports were submitted by the end of July for each compliance year. Participants are responsible for the accuracy of reports submitted, but we help them check the quality of their data. Any participant who finds an error in their report can resubmit the information into the CRC Registry at any time up until 28 February 2022.
The information provided in this ARP is based on 2018 to 2019 reports entered into the CRC Registry by participants, including corrections up to 31 October 2019. If a participant has altered their data after this date it will not be reflected in this publication.
4.2 ARP spreadsheet
The spreadsheet contains the following information based on the participants’ reports in the registry:
- registration number
- organisation name
- trading name (where submitted)
- regulator
- disaggregation information – where disaggregation has occurred, this will show the CRC registration number of the disaggregated participant
- number of designated changes – this figure shows the total number of designated changes that have occurred to a participant since registration for this phase
- organisation type
- sector code and description – for companies the codes and descriptions are based on the Standard Industry Classification codes – for public sector organisations and participants who classified themselves as an Organisation of Individuals (OOI) at registration the public body and OOI type is specified
- 2018 to 2019 CRC emissions in tCO2
- 2018 to 2019 Renewable Obligation Certificates (ROCs) emissions (tCO2)
- 2018 to 2019 Feed In Tariffs (FITs) emissions (tCO2)
- 2018 to 2019 Self Supply ROCs and FITs emissions (tCO2)
- 2018 to 2019 Self Supply Renewables (tCO2)
The data in the spreadsheet is divided into 4 pages:
- Page 1 shows each participant and their CRC emissions
- Page 2 gives more information for each participant including the sector and renewable emissions
- Page 3 shows participant responses to corporate responsibility questions
- Page 4 explains the data fields on pages 1 to 3
4.3 Changes to the scheme and comparability of data
The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme Order 2013 introduced several simplifications and modifications to the scheme, including the participant qualification criteria and reporting requirements. Some of these changes were applied from 2012 to 2013 within Phase 1. For example, reducing the number of energy supplies to be reported to gas for heating and electricity consumption.
Other changes took effect from the first year of Phase 2. For example, the exclusion of energy supplies used for metallurgical and mineralogical processes. All changes are detailed in the CRC Phase 2 guidance document.
These changes mean that much of the information in this Phase 2 report is not directly comparable to that presented in the reports for Phase 1.
5. Participation, emissions and allowances
5.1 Number of participants
Organisations qualifying for Phase 2 of the scheme had to register by 31 January 2014. Phase 2 changes to the qualification criteria, as well as organisational changes, altered the size of the participant group. There were 2,039 reporting participants in the last year of Phase 1. The total number of participants registered at the beginning of Phase 2 was 1,858. For 2018 to 2019 the number of participants registered was 1,865.
The participants are mostly large, non-energy intensive public and private sector organisations and government departments. Of the 1,865 registered participants, 1,347 (72.2 %) are private and 485 (26%) are public organisations. The remaining 33 (1.8%) are made up of charities and other organisations.
6. Energy and emissions reporting
Participants only needed to report gas used for heating and electricity consumption for Phase 2. There is also a distinction between electricity imported from off-site and that generated on-site. On-site generated electricity has a lower emission factor to remove the influence of transmission loss. The figures in Table 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d and 1e show the total sums of the reported emissions (which are reported individually in the spreadsheet) for 2014 to 2015, 2015 to 2016, 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019.
6.1 Table 1a: 2014 to 2015 reported energy use and equivalent CO2 emissions
| Fuel or supply type | Total energy reported | Total CO2 emissions (tCO2) |
|---|---|---|
| Imported electricity (MWh) | 70,409,213 | 37,663,662 |
| On-site electricity (MWh) | 1,804,476 | 886,592 |
| Gas (MWh) | 38,398,213 | 7,130,968 |
| Total | 110,611,902 | 45,681,222 |
6.2 Table 1b: 2015 to 2016 reported energy use and equivalent CO2 emissions
| Fuel or supply type | Total energy reported | Total CO2 emissions (tCO2) |
|---|---|---|
| Imported electricity (MWh) | 67,357,288 | 33,431,544 |
| On-site electricity (MWh) | 1,925,064 | 882,641 |
| Gas (MWh) | 37,771,342 | 6,951,443 |
| Total | 107,053,694 | 41,265,628 |
6.3 Table 1c: 2016 to 2017 reported energy use and equivalent CO2 emissions
| Fuel or supply type | Total energy reported | Total CO2 emissions (tCO2) |
|---|---|---|
| Imported electricity (MWh) | 65,784,597 | 29,380,717 |
| On-site electricity (MWh) | 1,994,992 | 817,089 |
| Gas (MWh) | 37,659,938 | 6,916,059 |
| Total | 105,448,689 | 37,113,865 |
6.4 Table 1d: 2017 to 2018 reported energy use and equivalent CO2 emissions
| Fuel or supply type | Total energy reported | Total CO2 emissions (tCO2) |
|---|---|---|
| Imported electricity (MWh) | 63,534,839 | 24,233,244 |
| On-site electricity (MWh) | 2,010,658 | 701,376 |
| Gas (MWh) | 38,261,099 | 7,032,558 |
| Total | 103,806,596 | 31,967,178 |
6.5 Table 1e: 2018 to 2019 reported energy use and equivalent CO2 emissions
| Fuel or supply type | Total energy reported | Total CO2 emissions (tCO2) |
|---|---|---|
| Imported electricity (MWh) | 60,926,054 | 18,643,572 |
| On-site electricity (MWh) | 2,098,801 | 591,350 |
| Gas (MWh) | 35,040,991 | 6,497,174 |
| Total | 98,065,846 | 25,732,096 |
7. Forecast allowance sales
In Phase 2, the process for buying allowances changed. In Phase 1, there was a single government ‘buy to comply’ sale of allowances at the end of each reporting period. For Phase 2 there was an additional fixed price ‘forecast’ sale of allowances held in April at the start of each compliance year.
Forecast sales allowed participants to buy allowances against predicted emissions for the current or future compliance years within the phase. Forecast allowances cost less than buy to comply allowances, as shown in Table 2. This provided an incentive to encourage better management and budgetary control of anticipated energy usage. The allowance prices were set annually by government.
Tables 3a to 3d show the allowances bought in the forecast sales for compliance years 2014 to 2015, 2015 to 2016, 2016 to 2017 and 2017 to 2018.
Table 4 shows information on the forecast sale completed in April 2018 for the fifth and final compliance year, 2018 to 2019.
7.1 Table 2: forecast and buy to comply sale prices per tonne of CO2 by compliance year
| CRC compliance year | Forecast sale price | Buy to comply sale price |
|---|---|---|
| 2014 to 2015 | £15.60 | £16.40 |
| 2015 to 2016 | £15.60* | £16.90 |
| 2016 to 2017 | £16.10 | £17.20 |
| 2017 to 2018 | £16.60 | £17.70 |
| 2018 to 2019 | £17.20 | £18.30 |
*This forecast sale price is corrected from the previously published price of £16.10. See more information on this correction.
7.2 Table 3a: 2014 to 2015 compliance year forecast sale showing the number of CRC participants involved and total value of allowances bought
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£15.60 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 212 | £124,566,530 |
| Public sector | 255 | £117,175,984 |
| Total | 467 | £241,742,514 |
7.3 Table 3b: 2015 to 2016 compliance year forecast sale showing the number of CRC participants involved and total value of allowances bought
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£15.60 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 253 | £271,410,968.40 |
| Public sector | 271 | £204,088,918.80 |
| Total | 524 | £475,499,887.20 |
7.4 Table 3c: 2016 to 2017 compliance year forecast sale showing the number of CRC participants involved and total value of allowances bought
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£16.10 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 202 | £150,707,125.10 |
| Public sector | 230 | £117,487,093.50 |
| Total | 432 | £268,194,218.60 |
7.5 Table 3d: 2017 to 2018 compliance year forecast sale showing the number of CRC participants involved and total value of allowances bought
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£16.10 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 175 | £98,875,410.00 |
| Public sector | 199 | £83,004,714.40 |
| Total | 374 | £181,880,124.40 |
7.6 Table 4: 2018 to 2019 compliance year forecast sale showing the number of CRC participants involved and total value of allowances bought
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£17.20 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 128 | £52,529,092.40 |
| Public sector | 148 | £34,340,006.40 |
| Total | 276 | £86,869,098.80 |
8. Buy to comply allowance sales
The buy to comply sale allowed participants to buy additional allowances from the Government, to meet their surrender obligations following annual reporting.
Tables 5a, 5b, 5c and 5d show the numbers of participants involved in the 2014 to 2015, 2015 to 2016, 2016 to 2017, 2017 to 2018 and 2018 to 2019 buy to comply sales and the value of allowances bought.
8.1 Table 5a: total number of CRC participants involved and financial value of allowances bought in the 2014 to 2015 buy to comply sale
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£16.40 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 1,170 | £445,573,338 |
| Public sector | 300 | £76,708,950 |
| Total | 1,470 | £522,282,288 |
8.2 Table 5b: total number of CRC participants involved and financial value of allowances bought in the 2015 to 2016 buy to comply sale
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£16.90 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 1,025 | £361,974,390.70 |
| Public sector | 238 | £65,483,072.20 |
| Total | 1,263 | £427,457,462.90 |
8.3 Table 5c: total number of CRC participants involved and financial value of allowances bought in the 2016 to 2017 buy to comply sale
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£16.90 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 1,029 | £329,519,784.40 |
| Public sector | 261 | £53,830,496.00 |
| Total | 1,290 | £383,350,280.40 |
8.4 Table 5d: total number of CRC participants involved and financial value of allowances bought in the 2017 to 2018 buy to comply sale
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£17.70 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 1,165 | £301,714,967.30 |
| Public sector | 288 | £57,711,615.90 |
| Total | 1,453 | £359,426,583.20 |
8.5 Table 5e: total number of CRC participants involved and financial value of allowances bought in the 2018 to 2019 buy to comply sale
| Sector type | Number of participants | Allowances bought (£18.30 per allowance) |
|---|---|---|
| Private sector | 1,085 | £234,794,984.10 |
| Public sector | 330 | £46,164,495 |
| Total | 1,415 | £280,959,479.10 |
9. Compliance and enforcement
9.1 Annual report submissions
Compliance against reporting requirements during Phase 2 is set out in Table 6. These figures take into account changes in the number of participants reporting for each compliance year. They exclude failures to submit reports in cases of insolvency.
Table 6: Phase 2 percentage of participants compliant with reporting deadlines
| 2014 to 2015 actual % | 2015 to 2016 actual % | 2016 to 2017 actual % | 2017 to 2018 actual % | 2018 to 2019 actual % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Percentage of participants compliant with annual report submission deadline | 98% | 98% | 98% | 98% | 99% |
9.2 Civil penalties
Under the CRC Order, the regulator has powers to issue financial civil penalties in the event of non-compliance. The order also provides that the penalty of ‘publication’ may be imposed. Penalties are normally published for 12 months after the period for making an appeal has passed. The current published details are on data.gov.uk.
In Phase 2 of the scheme, up to 31 December 2019, we issued 46 civil penalties with a total value of £410,021. These can be broken down into the following categories:
- 10 related to reporting failures
- 35 related to allowance surrender failures
- 1 registration failure
The cumulative value of penalties issued since the start of the scheme is £992,396. See CRC civil penalties.
10. Participant comments and feedback
10.1 Customer satisfaction
In Phase 2 we increased the range of options available to participants for giving us feedback on our performance. These included feedback during compliance audits, and customer feedback on our help desk performance.
In 2019, 69% of customers rated our overall service as satisfactory or better. Of these, over 50% rated overall service as good or excellent. We value all feedback and use it to help improve our service.
11. Future developments
11.1 The business energy efficiency taxation review
In the 2016 Spring Budget after a review of business energy efficiency taxation, government announced its decision to close the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme following the 2018 to 2019 compliance year, with no buying of allowances required to cover emissions for energy supplied from 1 April 2019.
The CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme (Revocation and Savings) Order 2018 came into effect on 1 October 2018. This confirmed closure of the CRC scheme once the 2018 to 2019 compliance year ended, covering energy and emissions to the 31 March 2019. Participants had to submit annual reports, order and surrender allowances for the 2018 to 2019 compliance year. And CRC records must be maintained until 31 March 2025. Compliance audit and enforcement work will continue after the 2018 to 2019 compliance year.
Participants have obligations under the scheme up until 31 March 2025.
See CRC closure guidance for participants.
12. Streamlined Energy and Carbon Reporting (SECR)
Government has introduced the SECR regulations. These regulations took effect on 1 April 2019. They build on mandatory greenhouse gas reporting by quoted companies which has been in place since 2013, and some elements of CRC. All large or quoted UK companies or large UK limited liability partnerships (including some CRC participants) will need to report annual energy consumption and emissions as part of their annual director’s report.
The Environment Agency does not have a role in the administration of this new reporting regime. Enforcement of SECR is a matter for Companies House and the Financial Reporting Council.