10 July 2023

Climate Change Agreement Scheme Extended

The government has recently announced a welcome two-year extension to the current Climate Change Agreement (CCA) scheme due to end in July 2025, confirming that it will not now end before July 2027.

The BPIF has long been entrusted by the government as the sole provider of the Umbrella Agreement on behalf of the whole print sector and it currently administers the scheme for around 330 of the larger energy users within the industry, saving it over £11 million every year.

Crucially, it has also reopened the joining window for the scheme to the end of September 2023. So for sites that use printing processes including Litho / Screen / Flexo / Digital / Inkjet etc and have a substantial energy usage, this is likely to be the final chance to join and take advantage of the savings.

Typically, a company using 500,000 kWh’s of electricity in a year would have an annual saving of £3,650 a year before scheme costs. And with the scheme being extended to April 2027 that would mean a saving of around £14,600 over the period. The savings on gas would be in addition to the figures quoted, but are usually smaller as gas is mainly used for heating.

The scheme is site specific and by simply sending the BPIF the site’s annual consumption of electricity in kWhs, it can let the business know how much the site would save. Even by just sending over a representative monthly bill, the site can get an estimate of the savings on offer.

The BPIF will take the site through the requirements of the application process providing it with sample templates and explaining the work involved. Once the application is complete it will be submitted to the government on the site’s behalf by the BPIF, who will then explain how to start claiming the discount.

Dawn Lovelock, Compliance Manager with the Delta Group, brought another of the group’s sites onto the scheme the last time the scheme was open to new applicants. She said ‘The BPIF held our hand through the entire application process and ensured the paperwork was correct before submitting it on our behalf. It made what seemed, at first, a complicated process, relatively simple with examples provided and the BPIF expertise only a phone or teams call away. I would recommend any high energy user contact the BPIF to see how much they could save’.

Charles Jarrold commented “the CCA rebate scheme has been highly effective in motivating companies to examine and reduce their emissions and energy use, while also offsetting the otherwise considerable costs of the levy. It’s been a great success story for the sector, so, we were pleased after extensive representations that government recognised the need for the incentives to stay in place.  We are now working with government to look at what happens after 2027, to ensure that if a different scheme is adopted it works to support UK print competitiveness”.

For further information and to book a free consultation call please contact either:

Steve Walker on 07801 981326 or email [email protected], or

Darren Shepherd on 07714 134655 or email [email protected] 

There is no retrospection so the sooner the site joins the scheme the sooner it will start saving.