By 5 December 2015, firms with more than 250 employees or those with a turnover exceeding £35m and balance sheet in excess of £30m must have conducted energy audits and notified the Environment Agency under the Energy Savings Opportunity Scheme (ESOS).
The legislation was announced only last summer in response to the EU Energy Efficiency Directive and requires audits covering transport, buildings and industrial operations to be carried out every four years.
The first phase of the scheme however, has given companies a much shorter time to comply. Rachael Dillon, FTA climate change policy manager, said: “With only four months until the ESOS deadline, companies should be taking immediate action now to comply if they have not done so already. Failure to do so could lead to financial penalties, not to mention having the added pressure of finding a ESOS lead assessor to conduct the audit in the autumn when demand is expected to peak.”
"Fuel represents on average 40% of a logistics company's operating costs, providing a huge incentive to reduce energy usage, whether a business is in scope of the ESOS or not. Many fleet operators are already implementing energy efficient actions across their business.
"Ms Dillon added: “There is no getting away from the fact that ESOS will cost businesses in terms of money and administration, but to get the most out of the process and make subsequent energy savings, we urge fleet operators to act now.”
FTA's Logistics Carbon Reduction Scheme has been identified in the Environment Agency’s best practice guidance as a means for freight operators to compile data and take action to reduce energy usage for transport for ESOS.
FTA is also offering specialised freight transport audits to companies to enable them to meet ESOS compliance. For further information, visit www.fta.co.uk/esos