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.

The Carbon Reduction Commitment (recently renamed the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme) has now officially started, and is the UK's first mandatory carbon trading scheme. The initial phase of the CRC is compulsory for organisations that consumed over 6,000 MWh (6,000,000 kWh) of half-hourly metered electricity during the period from January 2008 to December 2008. At today's prices, this is roughly equivalent to total half hourly electricity bills of approximately £500,000 per year.