A Climate change agreement (CCA) is a voluntary agreement containing targets to increase energy efficiency and reduce carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. They form part of a package of UK government measures to respond to the challenges of climate change while helping the industry remain internationally competitive.  Operators who commit to the scheme are entitled to a discount on the climate change levy (CCL) charge seen on their energy invoices.

1. Governing bodies	View now
2. Climate Change Levy	View now
3. Eligibility	View now
3.1. Assess the CCA eligible energy	View now
3.2. The 70% rule	View now
4. Base year and Targets	View now

 

1. Governing Bodies

The set-up and maintenance of a CCA involves a number of governing bodies.

2. Climate Change Levy

The Climate Change Levy (CCL) is an environmental tax charged on the energy used by businesses through the energy supplier. Energy intensive businesses can benefit from a reduced CCL charge if they choose to enter into a Climate Change Agreement (CCA), a scheme that is designed to encourage energy efficiency and to reduce carbon emissions. 

The below table shows the Full CCL charge payable and discount availible for CCA participants. 

Please swipe to the right on mobile to view the full table.

Taxable Commodity	Rate from 1 April 2022	Discount from 1 April 2022	Rate from 1 April 2023	Discount from 1 April 2023	Rate from 1 April 2024	Discount from 1 April 2024	Rate from 1 April 2025	Discount from 1 April 2025	Rate from 1 April 2026	Discount from 1 April 2026	Rate from 1 April 2027	Discount from 1 April 2027
Electricity (£/kWh)	0.00775	92%	0.00775	92%	0.00775	92%	0.00775	92%	0.00801	92%	0.00827	92%
Natural Gas (£/kWh)	0.00568	86%	0.00672	88%	0.00775	89%	0.00775	89%	0.00801	89%	0.00827	89%
LPG (£/kg)	0.02175	77%	0.02175	77%	0.02175	77%	0.02175	77%	0.02175	77%	0.02175	77%
Others (solid fuels) (£/kg)	0.04449	86%	0.05258	88%	0.06064	89%	0.06064	89%	0.06264	89%	0.06468	89%

For further detail on the Climate Change Levy please visit the Gov.UK site here

3. Eligibility

The BPF manage two distinct CCA sectors, Packaging & Industrial Films (PIFA) and Plastics (BPF). To hold a CCA an operator must carry out one or more eligible processes.

PIFA CCA

For the purpose of the PIFA CCA scheme the eligible process refers to an installation or site where plastic film is produced using extrusion to convert melted polymer into blown or cast film: all processes and activities involved in the production of plastic film using extrusion to convert melted polymer into blown or cast film, and which may include printing using organic solvents in the following processes; lithography, flexography, gravure and screen printing on plastic film 

BPF CCA

For the purpose of the BPF CCA scheme the eligible process refers to an installation or site where plastic materials, or plastic products (whether or not these are finished products), are produced by - (a) the application of heat and pressure to; or (b) a chemical reaction involving plastics powder, granules, shredded waste or liquid. The plastic processing techniques covered by this definition are:

• injection moulding
• reaction injection moulding
• compression moulding (including hot and cold press moulding)
• transfer moulding
• structural foam moulding
• direct screw transfer moulding
• rotational moulding (including slush moulding)
• flexible foam moulding (including dual component moulding)
• blow moulding
• casting
• expandable materials processing
• mixing and compounding
• calendering
• powder coating (including dip moulding)
• sintering
• thermoforming (including vacuum forming)
• pultrusion
• filament winding
• spread coating
• hand lay-up and resin transfer moulding

 

3.1. Assess the CCA Eligible Energy

The energy consuming areas on the site should be identified under three categories:

1. Stationary Technical Unit (STU) – The eligible process(s)
2. Directly associated activities (DAAs) – Energy consumed by activities supporting the eligible process (compressors / chillers/ vacuum feeds/ lighting)
3. Other activities – energy consumed in all areas not technically linked or supporting the eligible process, also know as non-eligible (offices, kitchen, store room)

 

 

3.2. The 70% rule

The basic principles of the rule are as follows:

• If the installation (STU and DAA) consumes 70% or more of the site’s total energy, the site as a whole is deemed to be fully eligible.
• If the installation consumes less than 70% of the site’s total energy the site is allowed to claim up to an additional 3/7^th of the installation’s eligible energy consumption as eligible. However the defined installation and any 3/7^th addition must be sub-metered.

For further detail please contact 020 7457 5027 or email [email protected]

4. Base year and Targets

The base year is a continuous 12 months of energy consumption and throughput data. The data collected during the base year establishes the baseline from which the targets are set.

• The baseline year for CCA3 (covering target periods 7, 8 and 9) is 2022

All participants of the CCA3 scheme report using an adaptive Novem method. This method determines performances by calculating a reference energy, that is, the energy consumption which would have occured in the base year for the same level of production as in the Target Period. 

A standard relative target considers all the energy consumed and production throughput for the site as a whole (for example there is one overall measure of kWh/tonne). For facilities with a single product group, where all the energy is shown to be variable, the adapted novem method gives the same result as the relative method.

The new adapted novem method allows a facility to split their baseline energy into fixed and variable energy components, and which may include more than one product group where the energy intensity is very different or where the facility has seen the introduction of a new product group since the baseline year.  

Operators who commit to a CCA are required to work towards an energy efficiency improvement target. For example, the Plastic sector improvement target for CCA3 (to 2030) is 9%, set against the baseline year of 2022.  

Where the target is not met, an operator can remain a participant in the scheme, through a CO2e buy-out mechanism to account for the difference between the target and actual performance, for Target Period 7 (2026) this is set at £37/tonne.   

Plastic sector commitment (BPF CCA)

Target Period 7 2026 (12 months)	Target Period 8 2027-2028 (24 months)	Target Period 9 2029-2030 (24 months)
4.50%	6.75%	9.00%

 

Packaging & Industrial Films sector commitment (PIFA CCA)

Target Period 7 2026 (12 months)	Target Period 8 2027-2028 (24 months)	Target Period 9 2029-2030 (24 months)
4.00%	6.00%	8.00%