The move was not announced as part of chancellor George Osborne’s speech to parliament yesterday. Instead, it was left to a statement by the Department of Energy and Climate Change in which it detailed its spending review settlement and confirmed the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) would be reformed so that the Treasury keeps revenue raised through the carbon pricing scheme.

“Revenue raised from the CRC Energy Efficiency Scheme will be used to support the public finances (including spending on the environment), rather than recycled to participants,” the statement said.

The spending review document confirmed that the move would raise £1bn by 2014/15 to help tackle the deficit.

Under the CRC, companies and public sector bodies that use over 6,000MWh of electricity a year have to participate in the scheme and purchase carbon allowances in line with the amount of energy they use each year.

During the initial phase of the scheme carbon allowances will be priced at £13 for each tonne of carbon that the company is calculated to be responsible for.

The government had intended to “recycle” the revenue raised from the sale of allowances to those organisations participating in the scheme. The level of recycled payments would be determined by the organisation’s performance in an energy efficiency league table, with the best performers receiving all the money they spent on allowances plus a bonus and the worst performers receiving only some of the money back.

However, the government has now effectively turned the sale of allowances into a carbon tax, forcing all participants to purchase carbon allowances based on how much energy they use.

The move is likely to be welcomed by environmental groups and some green businesses that have long maintained that the CRC would not have a big enough impact on organisations’ energy costs to drive significant improvements in energy efficiency.

It is also in line with the coalition’s commitment to increase green taxes.

However, it is bound to be fiercely opposed by some business groups who have already argued that the CRC is too costly and burdensome and will now find them faced with a major hike in energy bills.

Some have said that such an imposition will lead organisations employing a number of technology initiatives to offset their carbon footprint such as the increased use of video and audio conferencing or the commencement of energy to waste programmes.

Says Mark Rothwel-Brooks (mrb@businessdrivenchange.com) of BDC  ”So the service basically allows you to have a number of conference bridges for your employees to use with their clients or for you to use internally. The service is free insomuch that there’s no setup fee for you whilst the participants on a conference bridge get charged 4.2 pence per minute, which is significantly cheaper than the competition. 10% of the charges generated get’s split and sent to the Rainforest Alliance and the Carbon Trust. The functionality is high insomuch that each Moderator or owner of the bridge number has a login to a portal that allows you to see who’s on the call, you can do things like mute individual participants, alter the volume of individuals and even record the entire conference to make the recording available to a wider audience after the event. You also get management statistics on usage per month. There’s no limit to the number of bridges an organisation can have and at the end of the month your organisation gets a report which details, based on the conference bridge usage, how much carbon they have saved versus holding those meetings face to face.”

For more information contact Mark Rothwell-Brooks on mrb@businessdrivenchange.com

The 4Chan cyber espionage group has conducted a targeted attack on media associations in a purported retaliation for sponsored hits against file sharing sites.

This morning, attacks against the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) concluded after 37 service interruptions and one hour and 37 minutes of downtime.

The group, who were reportedly behind an attack on the Church of Scientology and attacks against the application of web filters in Australia in the past, were apparently retaliating against news that the film industry is employing ‘cyber hitmen’ to launch attacks that take out websites hosting illegal movies rather than the traditional method of traveling to one place and demonstrating in public.

Speaking to the Sydney Morning Herald earlier this month, Girish Kumar, managing director of Aiplex Software, said that it had looked for hackers prepared to bring the sites down. He said: “How can we put the site down? The only means that we can put the site down is [by launching a] denial-of-service [attack]. Basically we have to flood [the site] with millions and millions of requests and put the site down.”

Following this news, Anonymous set their sights on the industry bodies, with the British Phonographic Industry set to be hit at 4pm today. The BPI was contacted for comment, but at the time of writing there was no response.

In an initial announcement titled ‘We are Anonymous’, it said that ‘for the past 72 hours it had brought down the oppressive RIAA and MPAA.’ It said: “These corperations (sic) have fought to restrict our freedoms. They chose the tatic (sic): DDoS. It is only fair that we return in kind.

“We brought them down the same way they brought down The Pirate Bay, with a distributed denial of service. Since such activity is normally reproachable, they did not do it themselves. They hired aiplex.com (sic) who has been taken care of as well. They struck first, but we struck harder.

“There is one corperation (sic) that has so far escaped our notice. BPI, the British Phonographic Industry. While they did not directly attack Pirate Bay, they are also working to stop the spread of information.”

It then points to an open source download site where code can be used to launch a DDoS attack. The site currently shows that 89 per cent of 167 users recommend the project, with one user commenting that it is ‘useful and has been used in many interwebz warz, like operation titstorm and the cleaning out scientology’.

Panda Labs detected the attack against the RIAA, and said that the RIAA website had experienced 24 downtimes since the attack started. It also found that in addition to the attack, Anonymous/4Chan members also attempted to ‘Google bomb’, effectively influence the ranking of particular pages, with the phrase ‘Robert Pisano MPAA CEO arrested for child molestation!’.

Meanwhile the MPAA was down for 21 hours and 49 minutes after its website was brought down in only eight minutes.

Calling it a ‘surgical strike’, Simon Cartwright, CEO and security evangelist at www.adversor.net, said that not only does Anonymous have the collective man power, but according to an announcement by ‘image’, they will also be using botnets to assist in the attack against the MPAA.

He said: “How do you stop the collective man power of an entire internet community? You can seize equipment, hunt down the originators of the attack, but this is a group who has prided themselves in remaining anonymous, and have done so very well through the power of the internet. This is the future of cyber protests. Or alternatively, you mitigate the position by investing in an “in the cloud service” such as ours at adversor.net”.

CEO Paul Dickinson said that clear differences were emerging between those firms taking urgent action to tackle carbon emissions and those that are only paying lip service to the need to tackle climate change.

To highlight the widening gap, CDP has today launched a new Carbon Performance Leadership Index (CPLI), including the top 48 carbon-cutting firms in the Global 500. It found notable differences between these leading firms and the rest of the pack in all four of the areas the CDP report assesses – governance, strategy, achievements and stakeholder engagement.

The top positions in the CPLI were dominated by European firms with Siemens, Deutsche Post, BASF, Bayer and Samsung Electronics making up the top five companies in the index.

Dickinson said the main reason for the improved performance of these leading firms was their wider understanding of their global impact.

“The key question is how good is your radar?” he said. ” Some businesses don’t have very sophisticated global ambitions, so they don’t see any need to implement changes, but then there’s another category that really do see the impact of their actions. So it really depends on whether you’ve got good antenna.”

For example, the report found that 85 per cent of CPLI firms have integrated climate change risks or opportunities into their overall business strategy, compared to just 48 per cent of the wider Global 500.

CPLI-listed firms also reported more use of monetary incentives to encourage staff to act on climate change policies, with over 92 per cent reporting that they use financial incentives to encourage employees to reach climate-related targets. In contrast, just under half of the respondents from the wider Global 500 have employed measures such as bonuses for hitting carbon targets.

As a result of such measures, 94 per cent of the CPLI firms said they had made progress in cutting carbon, compared to just 55 per cent of the rest of the Global 500 respondents. Moreover, 52 per cent of CPLI firms said they had significantly cut emissions in the last year, compared to just 19 per cent of all the Global 500 respondents.

The report also found that firms in the CPLI index are increasingly positioning themselves to take advantage of commercial opportunities that are arising from climate change, such as carbon trading and renewable energy investments.

Dickinson said that those firms making slow progress on climate change policy had been allowed to drag their feet as a result of the failure to deliver an international climate change deal at the UN’s Copenhagen Summit last year.

“If there was a global deal, it would have been simpler for people to plan their business strategies ” he said. “We would have had a responsibility to carry out the legislation. Instead, we’re seeing a segregation between those businesses that are looking into the possibilities of benefiting from climate change and those that are acting as if there’s not a problem. And that gap is widening.”

However, he warned that those firms that failed to take action to curb carbon emissions now risked losing their competitive edge to those rivals that are investing in climate change measures. “Climate change is getting bigger every year and the sooner people wake up and smell the coffee and address their business strategies the better,” he said.

His comments were echoed by Alan McGill, a specialist in business carbon and climate change reporting and measurement at consultancy giant PwC, who analysed the CDP report. He said that the investors who used the information made available for the CDP report were increasingly demanding the kind of detailed data released by the CPLI firms.

“The issues for investors have shifted,” he explained. “Originally they wanted to know the information was being disclosed by companies. Now they are asking more questions about the robustness and credibility of the data. Disclosure alone is not enough. They are asking if the management team is using the information to drive the business strategy, and performance improvement. That’s why the new Performance Index this year and the trends that emerge from it over the coming years will become more and more important.”

He also warned that businesses around the world could soon face regulations demanding that they provide information on their carbon emissions and climate change policy.

“Already the Australian government has concluded that because of the financial implications, assurance of the reporting on these issues by a registered auditor is appropriate,” he said. “Defra will be deciding on whether carbon should become a mandatory reporting requirement for companies later this year, and the SEC has issued guidance as well. Companies that are signed up to CDP are in the first wave of a much wider movement towards integrated reporting. “

Arch Rock will allow Cisco to connect smart meters and other intelligent devices over a wireless mesh network using its strategic alliance with Itron to develop smart-metering technology over its Openway platform.

“Arch Rock’s wireless mesh technology enhances Cisco’s IP-based, end-to-end smart-grid offerings,” said Laura Ipsen, general manager of Cisco’s Smart Grid business unit.

“This acquisition further positions Cisco as a strategic partner to utilities working to manage power supply and demand, improve the security and reliability of energy delivery, and optimise operational costs.”

No financial information was given, but Cisco expects the deal to be completed by the second half of the year.

Bob Gohn, a senior analyst with Pike Research, said in a blog post that Arch Rock is a good fit for Cisco, and will enable its partnership with Itron to be used to full effect.

“The path forward on the Cisco and Itron platform appears significantly clearer. Starting with Arch Rock’s technology, Cisco adds its special sauce, and Itron integrates it all into the OpenWay platform, refining it along the way,” he wrote.

“All in all, if a standard advanced metering infrastructure communications platform is the goal, then I cannot imagine a better combination than Cisco’s architectural breadth, Itron’s experience and savvy, and Arch Rock’s technology. “

Gohn added that the move will allow Arch Rock to get its technologies into the business space, rather than having to compete with existing smart grid vendors.

“I thought it highly unlikely that Arch Rock could get major players to dump their own efforts and outsource this key architectural component. But Cisco can, as evidenced by the big Cisco/Itron strategic alliance,” he said.

“What will happen to Arch Rock’s hardware products is unclear, but I would expect them to fade away.”

That was the stark message from leading green construction firm NG Bailey at the CBI on Tuesday, which warned the UK is ill equipped to meet its carbon cutting 2020 and 2050 targets.

“Our current policies won’t deliver the goals,” said NG Bailey sustainability director Cal Bailey. “But I think we can achieve a dramatic change in our behaviour and incentives for landlords by making energy performance more visable by a simple branding method.”

NG Bailey is a founding member of the UK Green Building Council, which is trying to push the refurbishment of non-domestic buildings up the political agenda as part of plans to halve emissions from the built environment by 2020.

At the moment, only public buildings must prominently display a DEC, however Bailey urged for the legislation to be rolled out immediately to all large buildings over 1000 metre square and then applied to smaller buildings in five years time. He suggested buildings should display the a 1m sq certificate in lobbies or receptions.

The policy could boost the value of better performing buildings, thus financially rewarding any landlords who build to high energy standards, he said, and would be simple and cheap for the government to implement.

However, critics at the event argued Bailey’s idea was overly simplistic and failed to take account of the entire carbon footprint of a building, including waste management systems, public transport access and carbon embodied in contruction.

“BDC are specialists in the provision of focused consulting services to private equity in the Telecoms, Media and Technology space and have been for some time. The partnership with Sciemus/Qinetiq takes us forward into a complementary vertical and allows us access to unprecedented analytics from all the global manufacturers of power generation technologies along with live operational data of its usage from thousands of existing installations. We intend to use this unique insight to deliver clarity to our clients and an informed view on risks for the capital provider during the implementation and operational phases of an asset” says Mark Rothwell-Brooks of BDC.

Of the Partnership, Sciemus CEO Andre Finn said “With Qinetiq’s assistance, Sciemus has successfully developed Risk Assessment Tools for the Satellite and Power markets. We have used the tools and the unique data that underpins them to position insurance solutions and ourselves and our Clients have benefited greatly from the success of this approach. The move into consulting with BDC allows us to deliver value much sooner in the process and enables us to work with the capital providers and the operators earlier on when they are deciding in what to invest.  We believe that this is a more mature approach to doing business in this sector and it’s one that both organisations are excited about”

www.businessdrivenchange.com

www.sciemus.com

However, the coalition risked angering environmental groups by rejecting plans put forward by the previous government that sought to boost recycling by banning recyclable materials such as paper, textiles, wood, glass and plastics from being sent to landfill.

According to figures released by Defra, 14.6 million tonnes of municipal waste was sent to landfill in England last year compared to a target for 2010 of about 21.7 million tonnes. Data is still being collated from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, but the government expressed confidence it will meet the 2010 target set under the EU Landfill Directive, which requires the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill to be reduced by 25 per cent against 1995 levels.

The UK now has to cut the amount of biodegradable waste sent to landfill by 50 per cent and 65 per cent by 2013 and 2020 respectively, or risk EU fines that could run to hundreds of millions of pounds.

Environment minister Lord Henley said the data suggested growing numbers of businesses and households had embraced measures to reduce landfill waste.

“It is pleasing to see that from the latest data the UK will meet the 2010 Landfill Directive target as it shows that people are beginning to realise that we can’t continue sending huge amounts of waste to landfill,” he said. “As this government strives to be the greenest government ever it will be important that this trend continues as we look to meet future targets.”

However, the new data coincided with Lord Henley’s decision to reject one of the previous government’s main policies for delivering improved recycling rates following a consultation on plans to restrict the landfilling of recyclable and biodegrable materials.

The consultation asked for views on a range of policy options, including retaining the current regime, introducing landfill bans and requirements to sort waste, imposing tougher pre-treatment rules, and developing further producer responsibility schemes similar to those used to tackle eWaste.

Tougher restrictions, including a complete ban on sending some recyclable materials to landfill, had received strong support from the previous environment secretary Hilary Benn. But speaking yesterday Lord Henley said the policy would not now be pursued by the coalition.

“This government is not minded to introduce further landfill restrictions in England at this stage, but will consider how best to make progress towards the objective of zero waste to landfill as part of the Review of Waste Policies, due to conclude in spring 2011,” he said.

The ban on sending certain materials to landfill could yet be adopted in Wales and Scotland where both devolved administrations have announced plans to establish themselves as zero waste societies.

Dr Michael Warhurst, resource use campaigner at Friends of the Earth, expressed disappointment that the coalition had dropped the proposed restrictions on landfill waste.

“It’s good to hear that the UK is on course to meet its 2010 landfill diversion target,” he said. “[But] if the coalition is serious about delivering on its promise of being the greenest government ever, it must ban the land-filling and incineration of recyclable material, which will help cut climate changing emissions and create new jobs.

According to new preliminary figures from analyst firm the Cleantech Group and consultancy Deloitte, venture capital clean tech investment across North America, Europe, China and India narrowly beat the previous record of $4.02bn set in the first half of 2008, reaching $4.04bn.

The record was set after the second quarter of the year repeated the success of the first three months of the year with total investments reaching $2.04bn, an improvement of 43 per cent on the second quarter of last year.

“In spite of the persistence of wider concerns about the strength and sustainability of the global recovery, the strong flow of investment dollars to clean tech growth companies has continued in 2Q10, with clean tech venture investment in the first half of 2010 edging slightly ahead of the record total recorded during the first half of 2008,” said Richard Youngman, head of global research at the Cleantech Group.

He attributed the strong performance to the resurgence of investor interest in solar firms and a high volume of follow-on rounds, including a number of ” blockbuster deals”.

However, he also offered a note of caution for the market, arguing that the large sums invested in follow on investment rounds was partly a response to the “lacklustre and unpredictable state of the cleantech IPO market”, which has seen companies such as Goldwind and Solyndra withdraw IPO plans while Tesla defied expectations with a stellar public listing this week.

The report said the investment arms of large multinational firms were also playing a growing role in the market with Intel Capital, GE Capital, Shell, Alstom and Cargill Ventures all involved in the second quarters top 10 deals.

It added that utility companies were similarly increasing investments in low carbon infrastructure with the amount of renewable energy acquired through power purchasing agreements more than doubling during the first half of the year.

“The significant strengthening of corporate and utility investment into the clean tech sector, relative to 2009, is very encouraging, given the key role they will play in enabling broader adoption of clean technologies at scale,” said Scott Smith, Deloitte’s clean tech leader in the US. “Major US utilities are increasing direct investments in wind and solar due to improving cost scenarios, favorable tax credits and incentives, and evolving pressure to meet Renewable Portfolio Standards. Meanwhile, the largest global companies are seeing the business case for operational cleantech integration, leading to record corporate investment.”

He added that the uptick in investment was being driven by solid business factors such as the desire to “improve energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in order to reduce operational costs, mitigate energy price volatility risk, drive sustainable growth, and comply with existing and pending regulations around carbon and climate change risk disclosure”.

According to the preliminary figures, the solar sector continue to dominate the market, pulling in $811m in venture capital investments during the second quarter, while biofuels took second place with $302m and smart grid firms completed the top three attracting $256m.

On a regional level the US remained entrenched as the leading clean tech venture capital market, accounting for 72 per cent of all investment. In contrast, Europe and Israel accounted for 24 per cent of investment, India three per cent and China just two per cent.

The project, which is being undertaken by a wide-ranging consortium including Shell, the British Geological Survey, the University of Nottingham and engineering firm Caterpillar, aims to assess the availability and distribution of suitable minerals within the UK as well as the economic viability of new carbon mineralisation systems.

“We have already announced a project looking at the potential storage capacity for CO2 under the sea but mineralisation provides a possible alternative solution,” said ETI chief executive Dr David Clarke. ” Mineralisation potentially provides a permanent storage method – the CO2 could be converted into a useful end product and it could provide an opportunity to use waste materials to capture the carbon dioxide or be used in areas where local geological storage is not available.”

ETI spokesman Nigel Richardson said the project was scheduled to run until September 2011, but he added that an initial assessment of the technology’s viability would be undertaken this autumn, at which point additional funding may be provided to expand the research.

“Installing mineralisation technologies at large power plants may prove challenging as you need to ship in the mineral and have a market for the resulting aggregate,” he said. “But this could be a viable technology for smaller facilities such as brick and concrete plants.”

Carbon capture and storage by mineralisation technologies typically use chemical catalysts to accelerate the process by which carbon dioxide reacts with certain minerals to create calcium carbonate.