Businesses across the UK are set to save up to £300 million a year, as the government today (16 April 2020) launched a consultation on the terms of an extension to the Climate Change Agreement scheme (CCA).

CCAs work by setting targets for reducing businesses’ energy use in return for discounts on the climate change levy on their energy bills. The consultation will enable new targets to be put in place from January 2021, allowing the extension of the scheme beyond its current March 2023 end date to March 2025.

The 2-year extension, announced by the Chancellor during the Spring Budget, will give eligible companies extra financial support and security by guaranteeing access to savings worth up to £300 million a year until 2025.

Energy Minister Kwasi Kwarteng said:

Extending the Climate Change Agreement scheme will give businesses greater clarity and security at a time when they need it most.

This extension will save businesses money while cutting emissions – a key element of our work to combat climate change in the months and years ahead.

In addition to extending the CCA for thousands of companies currently in the scheme, the consultation will also allow new businesses to apply to join and gain vital access to savings as of January 2021. Under the current rules, businesses have not been able to join the scheme since October 2018.

By joining the scheme businesses will also be helping the fight against climate change. Since the CCA was introduced in 2013, it is estimated to have helped companies reduce energy use by up to 2.3 terawatt hours a year – enough energy to power 140,000 homes.

Andrew Large, Director General of the Confederation of Paper Industries, said:

CCAs successfully focus attention onto energy efficiency at production sites. For papermaking, these agreements have helped reduce the energy to make each tonne of paper by a third since the programme started.

We’re grateful to ministers for listening to feedback and extending the CCA end date and discussing a successor scheme. In the current crisis, this removes one element of uncertainly and helps companies plan for the future with confidence in the knowledge that the government is committed to supporting UK industry.

Phillip Law, Director General of the British Plastics Federation, said:

The British Plastics Federation (BPF) welcomes the 2-year extension of the Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme.

As an organisation that manages the CCA for the plastics industry, we know this scheme is highly valued and has helped to significantly reduce energy use. Reopening the scheme to new entrants is vitally important to UK businesses as it will help drive improvements to energy efficiency as well as reduce costs.

1. The consultation runs from 16 April to 11 June.

2. It proposes targets, to be agreed with businesses, which will be put in place from January 2021 to enable the scheme’s extension to March 2025.

3. New eligible firms wishing to join the CCA can submit applications until September 2020.

4. The consultation is also seeking views from industry on a potential future CCA Scheme beyond March 2025.

5. An evaluation of the scheme containing the above estimates has also been published today.

• Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
• If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

Reducing our carbon footprint is a great way to save money, boost staff morale and lessen our impact on the environment. But applying this to a business takes a bit more thought than remembering to separate plastic from paper.

The new contract

We recently awarded a new ITS waste contract to a local supplier that offers a complete asset management process. This includes data cleansing, repairing and refurbishing old IT equipment.

The contract includes the option of selling our IT kit back to the private sector and, where possible, clawing revenue back in to the public purse.

Through this new contract we have reduced our destruction costs to zero, making an instant annual saving of £62,000.

How we do it

Our IT kit is carefully wiped of all data to make sure that everything is removed before it leaves DVLA.

It is then collected by the supplier and placed on a production line, where a physical check is carried out to check for any damage. Each element is given a monetary value, before being cleaned up and sent for resale or donation.

Where it all goes

We have a history of donating IT equipment to local schools, voluntary and charitable organisations through our sustainability team. Laptops, desktops and other redundant IT equipment have also been donated to schools in Zambia as part of the Giakonda project and to the Sponsoring Academic and Medical Access charity.

Laptops have also been reused through our ITS DRIIVE programme. We were able to identify which schools in the local Swansea area would benefit most from our old equipment by working with the Welsh Assembly.

Why it matters

Awarding this contract means we are closer than ever to achieving the goals as set out in our sustainability report.

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• Only go outside for food, health reasons or work (but only if you cannot work from home)
• If you go out, stay 2 metres (6ft) away from other people at all times
• Wash your hands as soon as you get home

Do not meet others, even friends or family.

You can spread the virus even if you don’t have symptoms.

A drive-through coronavirus testing facility has opened at Edinburgh Airport as part of the Government’s UK-wide drive to increase testing for thousands more NHS and other key workers.

The Edinburgh Airport site sits alongside a rapidly expanding network of testing sites being set up around the UK, and is operating on an appointment-only basis for NHS staff and other key workers. The facility will be piloted for its first few days of operation.

This follows the launch of the Government’s partnership with universities, research institutes and companies to begin rollout of the network of new ‘lighthouse’ labs and field testing sites across the UK, with 27 testing sites opened to date.

This network will provide thousands more PCR swab tests – which are used to identify if you currently have the virus – for critical key workers, starting with NHS front line staff. This means those who test negative for coronavirus can return to work as soon as possible, and those who test positive are able to recover.

The Edinburgh Airport testing centre is being operated in partnership with Sodexo, with Boots medical staff administering some tests and others being self-administered. Those tested will receive their results within 48 hours.

Health Minister Lord Bethell said:

“The UK Government is rapidly scaling up the national effort to boost testing capacity for coronavirus to protect the vulnerable, support our NHS, and ultimately save lives.

“This new service will help end the uncertainty of whether NHS and social care staff need to stay at home meaning those who test negative will be able to return to work.

“This is a national effort and we are proud to be working with a number of partners to turn this ambition into a reality and roll out additional capacity to where it is needed.”

Scottish Secretary Alister Jack said:

“This new testing centre at Edinburgh Airport, which is funded by the UK Government, will help key workers continue to do their lifesaving work and look after those who need it most.

“The UK Government has committed to expand our testing capacity right across the UK and this new centre is now one of three in Scotland. We will continue to work for everyone in the UK to save lives and protect our NHS.”

Professor John Newton, National Coordinator for the UK Coronavirus Testing Strategy, said:

“New testing sites such as this one are a key pillar of our 5-pillar plan to scale up testing, and are critical in supporting NHS staff who are isolating at home to return safely to work if the test is negative.”

“This is a brilliant example of industries and businesses turning their resources to creating and rolling out mass testing at scale, which will help to deliver on our aim of carrying out 100,000 tests a day across the UK by the end of the month.”

A Boots UK Spokesperson said:

“We feel incredibly proud to be supporting COVID-19 testing for critical workers in Edinburgh.”

“Boots has been at the heart of UK healthcare for 171 years and has always come forward to support the community in times of need. Our team in Edinburgh is no exception. Some of our colleagues have already stepped forward to volunteer to run this COVID-19 testing station, which will start testing its first critical workers today.”

Sean Haley, regional chair of Sodexo UK & Ireland said:

“Sodexo teams have moved quickly to set up COVID-19 testing centres as part of the industry-wide effort to tackle the COVID-19 pandemic. The opening of the Edinburgh Airport testing site will mean more frontline NHS and other staff can be tested and cleared to provide care to those who need it most.”

“I am proud of our colleagues who are working together with pace and dedication to support the NHS.”

Gordon Dewar, Chief Executive of Edinburgh Airport said:

“We understand that the coronavirus pandemic is a national issue that requires a national response, and we realise we have a role to play by offering up space that can be utilised for crucial testing.“

The Government is also urgently working on setting up a home-testing service for critical key workers, supported by Amazon’s logistics network and other commercial partners.