The Food Storage and Distribution Federation (FSDF) has made a call to companies with cold storage sites to join a Climate Change Agreement (CCA) urgently. Joining one can save significant amounts of punitive taxation.

According to the FSDF, the last opportunity to join a CCA is July 2018 and there will not be another opportunity to join one until the end of the scheme in 2023.

When a company is in a CCA it can qualify for discounts. They do however need to monitor, measure and report on their power consumption and cold storage volume annually to measure themselves against the agreed FSDF CCA target of 11.7% reduction in energy use between 2008 and 2020. There is a barrier to entry: companies applying need to meet set eligibility criteria.

FSDF chief executive Christ Sturman said: “By joining the FSDF as a Full Member an organisation would be entitled to a 50 per cent reduction on the annual CCA subscription fee. Once signed up and approved as part of the FSDF’s CCA scheme, in return for meeting energy efficiency targets you will receive up to 90 per cent reduction in the Climate Change Levy [CCL] if your company commits to energy efficiency targets agreed with government, and will be able to apply for a rebate on any CCL charged.”

CCAs have been around since 2001, and were put in place to ensure the competitiveness of energy intensive sectors in the UK. They ran until March 2013. The government offered new CCAs from the 1st April 2013. Under the FSDF CCA scheme, eligible participants can save up to 90% on their electricity CCL and up to a 65% cut in any gas CCL. This is the carrot to the stick introduced in putting this punitive taxation in place, and can result in tax savings over the year.