One of IEMA’s strategic objectives is to improve the profession’s profile and influence by promoting the role and views of the environmental profession to policy makers, business and NGOs. As a contribution to this objective, IEMA now launches its new Special Report on GHG Management and Reporting.

The report sets out practitioners’ views, highlighting the drivers and barriers that help or hinder the business case, and the value that can be gained from GHG management and reporting. It shows the range of activities being used to achieve emissions reductions and distils the professional’s experience at the heart of change. As such it provides a unique status report to inform future policy and initiatives to help transform the economy.

Making carbon and GHG reduction a strategic business issue requires consistent reporting and accounting – a clear message coming from our extensive survey of members earlier in the year and reinforced through a series of member workshops. Overwhelmingly, the profession believes that GHG reporting should become a mandatory requirement for companies. Not only would this help to stimulate internal action to reduce emissions, it would also help companies demonstrate business responsibility on the pressing environmental issue of our time.

Under the Climate Change Act 2008, Government is required to lay before Parliament by December 2010 a review setting out the role that GHG reporting might make in achieving UK carbon budgets. In addition, it must regulate by April 2012 for mandatory GHG reporting by companies, or report to Parliament on why it has not done so. IEMA’s Special Report on GHG Management and Reporting represents the profession’s input to the Government review.

Government needs to take every opportunity to ensure that the UK is able to meet and exceed its carbon budgets. The profession recognises that mandatory GHG reporting is a key enabler for companies to make their contribution, and we are calling on Government bring forward enabling regulations at the earliest opportunity.