KPMG most carbon friendly of the Big Four

KPMG is the most carbon efficient firm of the Big Four according to the first annual league table of the largest organisations in the country.

The newly introduced government scheme ranks the largest companies in order of their carbon emissions.

KPMG scraped into the Top 100 at 99, ahead of PwC (161), Ernst & Young (228) and Deloitte (296).

The government initiative Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC), forces companies to pay for and report on their carbon emissions related to energy use.

Businesses are then ranked against other organisations in a league table published annually, with about 2,100 included in the scheme.

Other companies to feature in the table include HM Treasury, which just beat the Big Four firm at 98. The environment agency came in at a disappointing 275, collapsed bank Lehman Brothers made an appearance at 782, insolvency regulator Insolvency Service came in at 998 and the taxman trailed behind at 1,301.

The CRC scheme is mandatory for all UK companies that pay about £500,000 on their annual energy bills.

Previously, money spent on carbon emissions as part of the CRC were to be recycled into the initiative, with some companies given a rebate. However, last year the Conservative government decided to add the revenues to the public coiffeurs, essentially creating a green tax.