The consultation outlines how the term carbon neutrality can be applied by individuals, organisations, products and services. As well as attempting to define the term, DECC sets out recommendations on what constitutes good practice.
EEF strongly supports the government’s attempts to produce a definition on carbon neutrality. We believe it is vitally important that clear recommendations and boundaries are set in order to avoid future public cynicism. If done correctly, we believe that the goal of attaining or aspiring to carbon neutrality can drive positive change within an organisation which is consistent with the government’s goal of a low carbon economy.
However we argue that there needs to be a stronger emphasis on comparability of claims and a mechanism to ensure consumers are reassured that the claims have been expertly verified. Without it, there is a significant risk of the term losing credibility – which could undermine the considerable organisational benefits that can be brought to bear if a firm chooses to aspire to carbon neutrality.