UK Climate Change Agreements (CCA).

Why Climate Change Agreements are relevant.

CCAs enable eligible businesses to reduce their energy‑related tax burden while supporting national carbon reduction targets – particularly when reporting frameworks are aligned rather than treated separately.

Supporting these goals is the Climate Change Agreements (CCA) scheme.

What Are Climate Change Agreements?

Climate Change Agreements are voluntary agreements between energy‑intensive sectors and the UK Government. In return for committing to sector‑specific energy or carbon reduction targets, participating organisations can receive substantial discounts on the Climate Change Levy (CCL) – in some cases, almost 100%.

CCAs are site‑specific, meaning performance is measured at individual facilities rather than across an entire organisation. This makes them a practical tool for driving on‑the‑ground efficiency improvements while delivering meaningful financial savings.

Aligning CCA, with SECR & ESOS.

The Government is increasingly encouraging organisations to align their energy and carbon reporting frameworks, rather than duplicating effort across SECR, ESOS and CCA.

• SECR reports carbon emissions for all sites and requires a narrative explaining year‑on‑year changes, including energy efficiency actions taken
• ESOS identifies energy‑saving opportunities across all sites, effectively providing a structured menu of improvement measures
• CCA is site‑specific and can directly use ESOS recommendations to achieve agreed CCA targets

When aligned correctly, ESOS findings inform improvement actions, those actions are reported in SECR’s narrative, and site‑level savings contribute toward CCA targets. This joined‑up approach reduces reporting burden, improves data quality and ensures each framework adds value without overlap.

The focus is clear: align reporting – don’t duplicate it.

Why CCAs Matter.

When used alongside SECR and ESOS, Climate Change Agreements help organisations to:

• Improve energy performance and operational efficiency
• Reduce carbon emissions at site level
• Offset investment costs through energy tax savings
• Strengthen sustainability reporting and governance
• Demonstrate credible, measurable progress toward decarbonisation

For energy‑intensive industries, CCAs offer a practical and financially robust route to cost reduction while supporting the UK’s net‑zero objectives. ista can help you manage CCA compliance alongside SECR and ESOS through a single, aligned approach.