Workshop on Emissions Trading and its Effects on Your Business Aim For attendees to understand the issues surrounding the introduction of an emissions trading system and the opportunities that it might offer to them. Approach The Emissions Trading Scheme will require individual companies to accept absolute emissions targets. There will be an incentive scheme to encourage companies to do this. Companies will need carefully to assess the costs and benefits of this scheme in relation to Negotiated Agreements (if applicable) and the Climate Change Levy. The Environment Business is well placed to help in this process. We represent Blue Circle in the Emissions Trading Group and have been involved in this group from the outset. We have also worked with the DETR in the successful bid for funds to provide an incentive to businesses considering emissions targets. Our August Newsletter also describes some of the issues that need to be considered in dealing with these questions. These issues are both sectoral and individual. We suggest that in the first instance, we conduct a half day workshop on: Emissions Trading Schemes and what is involved The opportunities and risks for businesses Information required to assess the issues If individual businesses were sufficiently interested to take the matter further, this would involve looking at their own costs and benefits. This would require commercially sensitive information. We would be able to help such companies on an individual basis, to be discussed with them separately. I would not expect companies to make these decisions collectively as the risk would be to the individual business. The Environment Business, is uniquely places to understand the issues which face business and to help them decide the best way forward, taking into account all the possible costs. The half day workshop would be conducted by Bridget Rosewell and Laurence Smith. They recently presented a similar workshop to the British Ceramics Federation which was a great success. Please contact Bridget Rosewell for more information.