UK
The Textile Services Association (TSA) has welcomed the Government's decision to extend the Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme for another two years. The decision follows timely consultation responses to the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ) by the TSA and its CCA sector partners. The Association argued that funding the investment in technology to help reduce energy consumption was increasingly difficult for commercial laundries, which have already been economically hard hit by Brexit and Covid, and that Government incentives were essential to help the industry meet its net-zero commitments.
"As an industry, we have benefited from millions of pounds worth of rebates of gas and electricity taxes thanks to the CCA," said David Stevens, CEO TSA. "Over 140 sites have taken part. However, we are aware of several sites that have missed out on the last application deadline. With the current cost pressures on energy, this extension is welcome news and we encourage all TSA members - and indeed, all commercial laundries - to make use of the scheme."
The new CCA entrant application window opened on 1 May 2023. This is a short window and laundries have until September 2023 to register and prepare for the scheme.
The TSA entered into an umbrella agreement under the CCA on behalf of the laundry industry in 2012. "This scheme has been a great incentive and motivation for industrial laundries to measure and optimise their energy usage," said Stevens.
The laundry industry set itself an ambitious target of 25% energy savings in the CCA's first four target periods, which ended in 2021. The industry's overall performance was well on its way to meeting that target. Sadly, the inefficiencies caused by the Covid years, along with associated higher temperature requirements, put a dent in the figures.
Having said that, as a result of being part of the CCA, each participating site has several years' worth of primary energy data available to them. With all the new carbon emissions commitments, this data gives the laundry industry a vital resource and an advantage to help build on the energy efficiency measures it has undertaken already.
However, as the TSA points out, at the start of the process improving energy efficiency was relatively easy, as industry operators picked the ‘low hanging fruit’. Now laundries will need to aim for thwe tougher, ‘higher branches' of efficiencies to meet the current 4.5% targets - which is a key reason why the TSA urged the Government for the extension.
Indeed, the TSA has been actively contributing to the Government strategy, to ensure the scheme is relevant to the laundry industry, and has succeeded in opening new entrant application windows and negotiating industry targets. Next, the Association will further engage with Government to negotiate targets and the terms of the umbrella agreement.
"Not everything in the CCA garden is rosy," warned Stevens. "We have raised several issues with Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (DESNZ), such as the scheme only tracks comparative performance targets and does not factor in improvements in actual carbon emissions which is a key measurement when it comes to energy efficiency measures. Additional to addressing these concerns in the mid-long term, we are looking to the Government for guidance on future energy options. We are also asking for serious capital funding opportunities to plan future energy optimisation demands."
For more information on the CCA scheme visit cclevy.com. For help and advice on the scheme, contact the TSA.
