April 21, 2008 - National Grid has upped its already ambitious emissions reduction goal from 60% to 80% by 2050. The utility says it will integrate "carbon budgets" into the day-to-day management of its American and British electricity and gas businesses beginning next April.

Over the next year, National Grid will carry out a detailed assessment of its carbon footprint using methodology based on WRI/WBCSD Greenhouse Gas Protocol. Annual and five-year emissions targets will then be established for each business and integrated into the company’s performance process alongside targets for customer service, reliability, safety, operational efficiency, and financial performance.

“Minimizing our impact on the environment while delivering safe, secure, and economic supplies of energy to customers is not an option, it is a must - and the two have to be tackled together," says National Grid CEO Steve Holliday. "Adopting carbon budgets and integrating them into our business performance process will encourage our employees to identify new ways to achieve the challenging 80% reduction target and ensure emissions reductions remain at the heart of our operational decisionmaking.”