Both public and private sector organisations must make an information disclosure under CRC if they had one or more half hour electricity meter at any time during 2008.

Within the carbon reduction commitment, energy consumption is divided into 'core sources' and 'non-core sources'.

Core sources will typically include all electricity and non-transport fuel those provided as a constant supply and invoiced on a regular or monthly basis. It will be mandatory for all organisations to report their core sources of energy,

Within the carbon reduction commitment, energy consumption is divided into 'core sources' and 'non-core sources'.

Core sources will typically include all electricity and non-transport fuel those provided as a constant supply and invoiced on a regular or monthly basis. It will be mandatory for all organisations to report their core sources of energy,

The carbon reduction commitment (CRC) will be exempt from organisations that have more than 25% of their energy and emissions covered by a climate change agreement (CCA). However, these organisations will still be required to register under the CRC in order to set out their legal position.

Organisations will be required to participate in the carbon reduction commitment, if their total half hourly metered electricity exceeds 6,000 MWh from 1 January 2008 to 31 December 2008. For the purpose of determining the scheme qualification, the government has proposed that the definition of "half hourly metering" will include all meters that monitor electricity consumption on a half hourly basis. To this end, half hourly metering will include voluntary automatic meters that produce half hourly data.

The government has proposed that state-funded schools (including academies) within Great Britain, will participate within the carbon reduction commitment scheme under the umbrella of their local authority. In doing so, it is the carbon footprint of the local authority that will be legally and financially responsible for participation in the carbon reduction commitment scheme, rather than the individual schools.

It is also the local authority that will be positioned within the carbon reduction commitment, rather than the individual schools.

As the Carbon Reduction Commitment continues to develop, it is clear that organisations involved in the scheme will need to set aside significant resources if they are to maximise the benefits of the CRC.

Even where the desire is only to obtain legal compliance, businesses will still need to invest time in ensuring that they have identified the entire organisational structure and accounted for a minimum of 90% of all emissions.

The Carbon Reduction Commitment will typically result in a range of costs for participating organisations. These could include administration and consultancy advice, implementation of new technology, as well as the potential for fines and penalties due to non-compliance or poor performance.

However, in the long term, it is likely that most organisations will enjoy significant financial benefits due to improved efficiency and lower energy costs.