What are CCAs & how can they benefit businesses?

A Climate Change Agreement (CCA) is a voluntary agreement between UK businesses and the Environment Agency to reduce energy use and CO2 emissions over time. In return, these businesses receive a discount on their fuel and utility bills, known as the Climate Change Levy (CCL). In short, taking advantage of the CCA scheme helps both the environment and your bottom line—the very definition of a win-win.

Umbrella agreements vs. underlying agreements

There are two types of CCA: umbrella agreements and underlying agreements.

  1. Umbrella agreements are negotiated between The Department of Energy and Climate Change and various industrial sectors. These outline the energy efficiency measures and emission reduction targets for each sector as a whole—known as the ‘sector commitment’.
  2. The industry associations then manage these umbrella agreements for the eligible businesses within their sector via underlying agreements, which are held by individual sites or groups of sites owned by an organisation or operator. These outline the contribution each site needs to make to the overarching umbrella agreement targets. In this situation, any business that wants to enter into a CCA therefore needs to apply via its sector association.

Who is eligible?

A wide range of UK businesses are eligible, mainly related to the manufacturing sectors. But other energy-intensive activities also qualify, such as agricultural operations (e.g. pig and poultry farming), cold storage facilities, data centres, and large supermarkets. 

How do they work & what are the benefits?

A business that has a CCA will measure and report its energy use and carbon emissions against agreed targets over set reporting periods—and if the business meets its targets at each stage, it will continue to be eligible for the CCL discount.

This could be up to 90% on your electricity bill’s CCL element, and 65% on other fuels. Depending on your business, this can lead to savings of thousands of pounds every year.

How we can help

This might sound overwhelming, but the good news is—the Boxfish team can facilitate and manage your CCA throughout the whole process.

  1. First, we’ll support you through the application processes; gathering the data, crunching the numbers, and completing the necessary reporting.
  2. From there, we can support with the identification and implementation of suitable efficiency initiatives; to help ensure compliance with your own specific energy or carbon reduction targets, as outlined in your underlying agreement.
  3. Finally, we can help with the ongoing measuring and reporting that’s required to ensure your organisation remains eligible for the CCL reduction.

Get in touch

The deadline for new applicants is 30 November.
Talk to us about making the most of the CCA scheme.
Call us on 0141 226 8525 or email us at hello@weareboxfish.com

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