The shift to a Low Carbon economy is already underway and businesses across a range of sectors must get ready for it. Low Carbon investment is vital as there is an increased focus throughout industry on level of emissions, environmental impact and rising energy costs with businesses increasingly having to address climate change, coupled with an increasing regulatory burden.
The Food and Drink industry is possibly one of the best placed to deal with a move to a Low Carbon economy. As it remains one of the highest energy users in the UK there are real opportunities to cut costs, energy use and carbon emissions.
With energy prices expected to increase by around 60% by 2020 there will be an obvious negative impact to the bottom line of any business that ignores the shift to green energy. Furthermore, businesses should expect a move towards mandatory government targets on emissions, mandatory environmental reporting and financial penalties for non-compliance within the next two to three years, with main market listed companies being subject to mandatory emission reporting from 2013.
Businesses within the Food and Drink Industry should already be considering Low Carbon technologies to create their own power supply or reduce their energy consumption. As an industry which is historically a large producer of waste, significant opportunity exists as a result of new technology to use this waste to create energy, in turn reducing energy bills and waste disposal costs.
Shepherd and Wedderburn can assist your business from inception to completion of your Low Carbon project drawing on a depth of experience from across the low carbon spectrum, providing independence you can trust with no preferences as to specific technologies, but instead advising on the best solution for each individual client. Our services include origination, advisory and project delivery advice to ensure successful delivery of your Low Carbon project.
Recent examples of energy-driven deals include:
- Advising Chivas Brothers Limited in relation to the CoRDe (Combination of Rothes Distillers) £60 million joint venture for the development of a major new CHP(Combined Heat and Power) Plant at Rothes in Moray to use by-products from 16 distilleries in the Speyside area to generate electricity.
- Advising a drinks manufacturer in connection with contracts for design, construction, operation and maintenance of an AD (Anaerobic Digestion) plant to treat waste from the drinks plant and allow discharge of waste water into watercourse.
For further information on Low Carbon advice and advice on energy efficient infrastructure projects, contact Kevin Taylor or Paul Young.