Leading companies will be made to report their greenhouse gas emissions from the beginning of the next financial year, the Government has said.

The new rules will apply to London Stock Exchange listed businesses from April 2013 to allow investors to see which companies are managing their pollution effectively, and the scheme could be rolled out to all large companies from 2016.

The Government said the move, announced by the Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg at the Rio+20 global environmental summit in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, was backed by the majority of businesses.

Reporting pollution such as carbon dioxide and methane in annual reports is the first step for businesses to cut the harmful emissions that drive climate change, according to officials who predict the scheme will save four million tonnes of CO2 by 2021.

Mr Clegg said: “Counting your business costs while hiding your greenhouse gas emissions is a false economy. British companies need to reduce their harmful emissions for the benefit of the planet, but many back our plans because being energy efficient makes good business sense too. It saves companies money on energy bills, improves their reputation with customers and helps them manage their long-term costs too.”

Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman, who is also attending the summit in Rio, said: “The discussions we’ve had with businesses show that they want to cut down on their greenhouse gas emissions and they want to be open about it. She added: “Investors are now looking hard at the green credentials of businesses, and the reporting of greenhouse gas emissions will give them vital information as they decide where they invest their money.”

By KRISTY DORSEY                                                                    

TECHNOLOGY fledgling Ewgeco has struck a major deal that will allow the Scottish firm to break into the multi-million-pound market of energy management in the commercial sector.

The agreement with facilities management giant Mitie will lead to a doubling of Ewgeco’s workforce at South Queensferry to 22 by the end of next year.

The firm also expects to add products to its existing range of energy services, which help staff cut consumption through live utility monitoring.

Ewgeco chief executive George McGhee said: “Up until this year, most of our business has been in the housing market.”

He said just 5 per cent of revenues are flowing from commercial sales, but that figure is expected to rise to 20 per cent this year, then up to 50 per cent next year.

Ewgeco’s range will be integrated into the “CarbonCare” offering from Mitie, which generates about 40 per cent of its £2 billion in annual sales from energy management. Mitie’s “CarbonCare” customers include Sony, Standard Life Investments, Tesco, Total and Virgin Trains.

Founded at the end of 2006, Ewgeco is based around a prototype developed by founder Tanya Ewing after she received an unexpectedly high gas bill.

The system was further refined with backing from Archangel Informal Investments and Scottish Enterprise, which last month put a further £1 million into the business to help drive its expansion into commercial markets.

Martin Holt, managing director of Mitie’s technical facilities business, said Ewgeco’s “traffic lights” display made it simple for those working in a building to understand their energy use and how to reduce it.

“Savings of as much as 10 per cent are possible with very little investment,” said Holt.

http://www.scotsman.com/scotland-on-sunday/business/energy-monitors-firm-ewgeco-signs-mitie-big-deal-1-2359413

The CIH annual conference and housing exhibition is the leading event for the UK housing sector.  The event bring’s the whole of the housing sector together – not for profit, local authority, private sector, commercial partners and suppliers – to learn, improve and influence.

Ewgeco is at Stand B65.  Visit the stand to enter our competition to win a live energy monitor.

http://www.cihhousing.com/

For too long companies have shown off their green credentials as a marketing strategy aimed at attracting investors or customers who are becoming more environmentally aware. In fact this has become so systemic that the phrase “Greenwash” - using green PR to whitewash corporate environmental wrongdoings has joined the lexicon of modern business.

Some companies are taking the longer view, making large green investments to prepare for anticipated shortages of power and materials. Google is investing in one of the biggest wind farms in the world in the USA and in Europe LEGO and IKEA are taking similar steps.

This month sees Rio+20 – the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development taking place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 20-22 2012. Its bold aim is to bring together governments and international institutions to agree on a range of smart measures to reduce poverty while promoting decent jobs, clean energy and a more sustainable and fair use of resources. The intention being to move away from business-as-usual and to act to end poverty, address environmental destruction and build a bridge to the future. However, this conference has happened before and all the corporate sustainability policies in place right now are not making much of an impact if you look at the relentless rise of carbon emissions, deforestation and overfishing.

With the population expected to grow from 7 billion to 9 billion by 2050 Governments need to do more than pay mere lip service to these goals and work with the bigger pioneering blue-chip companies who are actually making fundamental changes to their corporate behaviours such as Nestle and Unilever, who are making improvements in supply chains more environmentally sustainable. Watchdogs are needed and a closer tie between companies and governments. However if a company’s primary motivation is profit care will be needed to bring about the right policy decisions.

It’s not an auspicious start that Barak Obama, Angela Merkel and David Cameron will be noticeably absent from the Rio conference.

Closer to home, what we don’t need is more uncertainty around our own government’s commitment to the “Green Deal,” and trying to bring everyone out of fuel poverty.

The answer is still predominantly location, mainly due to lack of education and awareness about how much energy bills will likely cost in the future and how much technology and a well designed house can help keep these affordable.

The industry has been vocal in explaining the energy-saving technologies and building methods that exist now, but it’s hard to educate an audience that is not necessarily listening. “Energy efficiency has not previously been on the agenda for new house purchasers but we believe this will all change due to ever-increasing energy costs, coupled with improved education.” said Tanya Ewing, Founder of Ewgeco energy displays.

You can read more about this and some of the technology now available in an enlightening energy technology article in this month’s Show House magazine, a a leading trade magazine for housebuilders and new homes industry suppliers. http://www.showhouse.co.uk 

Ewgeco, the creator of industry leading live energy efficiency monitor, announced the signing of manufacturing agreement with global tier 1 electronics sub-contract manufacturing giant, Jabil Circuit Ltd, in a move designed to prepare the company to scale its business.

At present, Ewgeco systems are entirely made in the UK and protective of this badge, all products will be built by Jabil’s factory in Livingston, Scotland where there is a team of people experienced in working with fast growth companies.
However, one of the key drivers for Ewgeco awarding the manufacturing contract to Jabil is the company’s global manufacturing capability and ability to distribute some of the production load to other facilities at short notice should demand require it.

George McGhee, Chief Executive of Ewgeco, said: “Whilst we are very proud of our designed and manufactured in the UK credentials, we know that a single contract, from a single utility, in a single market anywhere in the world could change the scale of our business overnight by tens of thousands of units per month.
‘It is therefore vital that our manufacturing partner is someone who can rapidly deploy upside capacity by off-shoring some or all of our requirements and delivering back to us the commercial benefits of the associated economies of scale. It was for these expediencies that we chose Jabil who have a solid track record of doing just that.”