Bill Wright, head of energy solutions at the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA), has responded to proposals from the British Retail Consortium (BRC) to set business rates for retailers based on their energy consumption: “The BRC’s proposal to set business rates based on energy consumption is an excellent way of incentivising retailers to put energy efficiency at the top of their list of priorities. Business rates represent a large proportion of their outgoings, so giving the option of reducing them, in line with their energy consumption, would provide a compelling case to be more energy conscious.”
“Commercial buildings are responsible for approximately 22%* of the UK’s carbon emissions, so they have a vital role to play in the energy efficiency drive. Previous attempts, such as the climate change levies and the Carbon Reduction Commitment have not been as successful as initially hoped. However, this solution hits pockets directly so could be a very real way of encouraging businesses to reduce their energy usage.”
*English Heritage: Energy Efficiency and Historic Buildings. 2012