The Environment Agency (EA) has announced plans to audit facilities that are covered by Climate Change Agreements (CCAs). The aim of an audit is to satisfy the EA that Climate Change Levy Scheme (CCL) members remain compliant with their CCAs and have auditable records to support the data they submitted upon registration and during target periods.
Should your site be selected for audit, your CCA authorised signatory will be notified by email, either by the EA or their consultants Ricardo-EE. It is anticipated that most, if not all, audits will be undertaken as a desktop exercise, rather than a site visit.
What will you need to provide the auditors?
It is likely the auditors will concentrate on two main areas of the CCA: your continuing eligibility for the scheme and verifying all historic data submissions.
You will need to provide the auditors with the following items:
- A copy of your most recent underlying agreement
- Updated 70:30 calculations with the most recent calendar year data
- A site plan that clearly defines the site boundary, eligible and ineligible areas, meter and fuel locations
- Copies of the energy and production data you have submitted for the CCL base year and Target Periods
- For most participants, this is the 12 months from 1 October 2007 to 30 September 2008 inclusive. You will also need to show the origins of the figures used. For example, energy bills, sales records and abattoir receipts for livestock. For most horticulture sites, the production is usually defined by your site area.
- Your energy savings plan, including a record of the improvements you have made and when they were carried out
A full list of the documents required by the auditors can be found here. To access all guidance notes, you’ll need to log into the website using the same username and password you use for the CCL Data Return.
Please do not hesitate to call our CCL team on 024 7639 3043 if you would like more advice on preparing for the audit.