James Evison 20 September 2010 Only a fifth of a councils sign up for CRC Only 96 out of 438 local authorities have signed up to the obligatory Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), according to consultants WSP Environmental. WSP also reported as many as 1,000 large-scale companies and 5,500 small-scale companies may not meet the deadline for the CRC and face thousands of pounds in fines. Reports had already appeared that the end of September deadline would be missed by some of the 5-6,000 large companies and government bodies. Now, though, WSP has told the Daily Telegraph that even with a last minute ‘rush’ in registration only 3,000 large companies will have signed up. Also, only 9,500 out of 15,000 small companies will be ready. If the deadline is missed, the large companies will face an immediate £5,000 fine and another £500 for every subsequent day the documentation is not received. The small companies will receive a fine of £500 and may have to buy permits in the future. David Symons, director at WSP Environment & Energy, told the newspaper: ‘The Environment Agency has run high-profile campaigns to raise awareness of CRC and has revised its forecast of the number of businesses obligated by CRC. ‘However, it continues to be a concern that many organisations appear likely to miss the registration deadline.’ Also read: Guidance on Carbon Reduction Commitment launched Local government ‘is failing’ on the CRC View more information on these councils