Ecotrust Canada and Pembina Institute launch new service to help business take advantage of carbon tax

FEBRUARY 21, 2007 (VANCOUVER) – With the B.C. government introducing North America’s first carbon tax  this week, Ecotrust Canada and the Pembina Institute are launching a new service to help small- and medium-sized enterprises reduce and offset their carbon footprint. 
 
“Small business is the backbone of the B.C. economy. With the new carbon tax, we expect that many entrepreneurs are going to try to reduce their tax bill by reducing their  carbon footprint,” says Ian Gill, President of Ecotrust Canada. “We are elated that the B.C. government is taking a leadership role on global warming. The carbon tax is going to be a strong incentive for businesses to cut their green-house gas emissions.”
 
The B.C. government plans to reduce small business taxes from 4.5 percent to 3.5
percent in 2008 and down to 2.5 by 2011. That will represent a $255 million tax
reduction to small business. At the same time, the carbon tax will raise the cost of
burning fossil fuels which emit greenhouse gases causing global warming.
 
Some 20 small businesses are already signed up for the Carbon Neutral Workgroups for Small Business that will begin in Vancouver in mid-March and Tofino next week.

Ecotrust Canada and the Pembina Institute plan to hold five workgroups in 2008 taking some 75 businesses through the process of measuring, reducing and offsetting their carbon footprints. The workgroups include three seminars, the use of carbon calculating software designed for small business, and access to a technical support hotline. The cost is $1,000 per business.
 
Last year, Ecotrust Canada and the Pembina Institute launched a pilot program taking 10 businesses through the workgroup process. The businesses committed to cut and offset their greenhouse gas emissions on average by 64 percent or 999 tonnes in 2008. That’s equivalent to removing 360 cars from city streets. Reduction strategies included using more energy efficient lighting, reducing idling times in vehicles, investing in new energy-saving technologies, cutting paper consumption and other measures. 
 
”The carbon tax sends a clear signal to the marketplace and I believe small businesses will respond positively to this change,” says Alison Cretney with the Pembina Institute. ”Cutting carbon can make businesses more competitive by reducing their costs.”
 
FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Ian Gill, President of Ecotrust Canada, at (604) 340-5297
Elizabeth Sheehan, Carbon Market Analyst, at (778) 858-4680
Alison Cretney, the Pembina Institute, at (778) 233-4051