The Cold Chain Federation has successfully negotiated more achievable energy efficiency targets for the UK’s Climate Change Agreement (CCA), delivering significant financial relief and operational certainty for cold storage businesses across the country.
The CCA is an essential initiative, designed by the UK Government to encourage energy efficiency, and offers significant tax savings to companies committed to reducing their energy consumption and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. The Cold Chain Federation oversees CCAs for the cold storage industry. It currently includes around 420 frozen and chilled warehouses across the UK, which together save approximately £11 million each year from the scheme.
It is critical for the UK citizens safety that the storage of 50% of the nation’s food and vital medicine and blood supplies move as far away from an increasingly unreliable and under pressure national energy supply. The renewal of the CCA is a vital step from government in encouraging the sector to invest in energy efficiency, which is one way of taking control of energy demand.
“The CCA is a vital catalyst to the adoption of more energy efficient technology and one that will allow the cold chain sector to better supply life saving medicine and food in times of crisis. The CCF welcomes the ongoing support for the sector in achieving its goal of net zero.”
Phil Pluck, Chief Executive, Cold Chain Federation
New CCA Scheme from January 2026
A refreshed CCA Scheme for cold storage will commence in January 2026, following intensive campaigning by the CCF. The scheme will provide members with an estimated £11 million in energy bill savings per year until at least March 2033.
To benefit from these savings, participating cold storage businesses must commit to energy efficiency targets. Failure to meet targets incurs a penalty fee, known as a carbon buyout. CCF has successfully negotiated a reduction in the proposed target from 20% to 11% by 2030, measured against a 2022 benchmark year. This realistic negotiated target will save members hundreds of thousands of pounds in potential penalties and reflects a major win for the sector.
“ The 20% target originally proposed by the government was clearly unachievable and risked undermining business confidence in the scheme and significantly increasing financial penalties for our members. By utilising data from businesses to demonstrate an alternative target that was still challenging, but feasible, we have secured a deal that delivers for the cold storage industry whilst supporting the government’s efforts to move towards net zero.”
Tom Southall, Deputy Chief Executive, Cold Chain Federation
Interim Targets and Greater Flexibility
As well as an 11% target by 2030, the CCF has also secured favourable interim energy efficiency targets which cold storage businesses must also meet:
- 75% by the end of 2026
- 75% by the end of 2028
Additionally, from January 2026, new sites will be able to join the CCA Scheme at any time, replacing the previous system of limited ‘windows’ every few years, providing businesses with more flexibility to participate.
Energy Efficiency Achievements and Ongoing Support
For the first time in 2024, the sector as a whole narrowly missed its energy efficiency target, achieving 9.7% against a target of 10% (based on a 2018 benchmark). This demonstrates the increasing challenge of finding further energy improvements.
The Cold Chain Federation remains committed to supporting its members in improving energy efficiency, offering services such as the Energy Benchmarking Service, reports and guidance, and industry events to help members continue to save energy, meet the new targets, and reduce costs.
Comments are closed.