UK coalition calls for common carbon reporting standard

An open letter addressed to the UK Prime Minister, written by the Aldersgate Group and supported by a wide ranging coalition of businesses and MPs, calls for the introduction of enabling powers in the Climate Change Bill for mandatory carbon reporting standards.

It maintains that the lack of a standardised carbon reporting and accounting system for British companies is impeding the UK government's long term goals of reducing emissions and creating a low carbon economy.

The initiative follows on from the launch of a report by the Aldersgate Group entitled Carbon Costs: Corporate Carbon Accounting and Reporting, which finds that very few FTSE 350 companies have credible carbon reporting mechanisms in place, and those companies that do cannot be compared because they calculated emissions differently.

The report argues that the lack of a clear definition and protocols is impeding progress and that the UK urgently needs a common reporting standard, which is driven by government and delivered by business.