The Cold Chain Federation is urging businesses to act now if they have cold storage facilities that are not yet benefitting from savings through the cold store Climate Change Agreement (CCA).

The cold store CCA is a voluntary agreement between Government and industry that saves cold chain businesses more than £10m each year in return for meeting an energy efficiency target. Eligible businesses receive a discount on the Climate Change Levy (CCL), a tax added to electricity and fuel bills. The Cold Chain Federation manages the only CCA for the cold storage industry.

The CCA scheme was due to end in 2023 and has been closed to new entrants since 2018, but in March this year Government announced that the scheme will be extended until 2025 and reopened to new facilities for a limited time.

“The scheme already saves its cold store signatories more than £10m each year in taxes, and businesses should act now to join and make important savings on their facilities too.”

Cold Chain Federation chief executive, Shane Brennan, said: “The deadline to apply for cold store facilities to join the CCA is 28th August. Applying is straightforward but it does take time, so we advise starting the process in early July at the latest. The scheme already saves its cold store signatories more than £10m each year in taxes, and businesses should act now to join and make important savings on their facilities too.

“More than 400 cold stores across the UK are already part of the cold store CCA. Some businesses have focused on quick energy efficiency wins like switching to LED lighting, others have made more substantial changes like upgrading refrigeration systems. The signatories achieved the latest energy efficiency target well ahead of time, and we are working with Government to ensure the new target is similarly meaningful yet achievable.”