> Key benefits > Customer demand

With over a quarter of UK businesses saying that they have already felt the impact of climate change and a significant increase in environmental regulation, emissions reduction is one of the top strategic issues facing organisations today.

Increasingly organisations need to demonstrate their environmental credentials to their customers:

• Organisations face supply-chain pressure from their business or public sector customers to measure and manage their carbon footprint
• Consumers are demanding better carbon performance from business.

Research conducted with business leaders and consumers has shown that, whilst existing certification schemes and standards are valuable, none of them delivers precisely what is needed:

• A focus on actual results, not good intentions
• A standard that is about ongoing commitment, not judgement at a single point in time
• A standard that is independent, credible and trusted because of the authority of the body running it
• Approaches that build on all the other work that has to be done to comply with regulation.

The Carbon Trust Standard has been designed specifically to meet these requirements.