The key executives responsible for monitoring and reporting company carbon emissions appear to have a limited understanding of what is needed, despite new laws coming into force with six weeks.
The lack of understanding was revealed in a study by Melbourne based environmental consultants, Carbon Planet, which found over 76 per cent of chief financial officers rate their understanding of carbon emissions reporting as either fair or poor.
The National Greenhouse and Reporting Act, which is due commence its first period on July 1, is a national system for reporting greenhouse gas emissions, abatement actions and energy consumption and production levels of corporations.
The survey, labeled The Carbon Crunchtime, also reveals that while 56 per cent of CFOs agreed that good carbon management would improve business efficiency and reduce operational costs in the long run, nearly half of those asked lacked confidence in allocating a sufficient budget to effectively reduce carbon emissions across their organisation over the next five years.
Dave Sag, founder and executive director of Carbon Planet, says that the survey results show that there is still much confusion surrounding incoming legislation relating to carbon emissions.
"Although a number of Australian businesses say they are prepared to deal with the incoming legislation, the reality is that they do not yet have the tools and level of understanding to take the required action.
"Businesses are paying significant lip-service to the issue, but in many cases this is not translating into action. The fact that just one in four CFOs considers carbon emissions reduction to be a high business priority over the next five years amplifies this," Mr Sag said.
Carbon Planet, who manage and consult on global carbon issues, surveyed over 400 CFOs associated with companies of 50 employees or more.
