Businesses are totally unprepared for Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) regulation, according to independent specialist environmental consultancy Envos.
The draft legislation which is currently under consultation will mean a group of around 5000 businesses will soon have to pay a total of approximately £660m a year for their greenhouse gas emissions.

However, Envos says 90% of businesses are well behind the curve on improving their energy efficiency.

The CRC will force all organisations with an annual electricity usage of more than 6000MWh to buy carbon credits at a price of £12 per tonne of the CO2 they emit, starting from April 2010.

Envos managing director, Wade Barker, said: "Judging by the level of preparedness we have seen among UK businesses, a lot of the organisations affected by this legislation will be caught unaware.

"These organisations should make an assessment of their energy usage as soon as possible and implement energy-efficiency improvements before they get stung in the pocket by the forthcoming regulations."