News

Government in a strong position to meet its carbon dioxide targets

Released on 18/12/2009

The Government has today announced it is expecting to meet its targets to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its occupied buildings. The announcement comes as the Office of Government Commerce (OGC) publishes key performance data on Whitehall's own sustainability targets and as the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) publishes its commentary on Government performance.

Data, signed off by Permanent Secretaries, shows last financial year there was a 10% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions from offices relative to a 1999/00 baseline (compared to 6.3% the previous year). According to latest projections, which are built up from departmental plans, the Government is in a robust position to exceed its current target of 12.5% by the end of March 2011 and can achieve a 17.8% reduction in carbon emissions against the baseline.

Commenting on the figures, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, Ian Pearson MP said:

"The figures released today demonstrate the strong commitment and progress being made across Whitehall to address the crucial matter of reducing the environmental impact of Government's day-to-day business operations.

"We are dedicated to encouraging more radical and innovative approaches to tackling negative impacts on the environment, and we will announce new targets for Whitehall next year, following a comprehensive review, to ensure they remain relevant, ambitious and lead best practice."
 
Rebecca Willis, Vice Chair of the Sustainable Development Commission, said:

"It's great to see the progress that has been made in the last twelve months, thanks to considerable efforts from Government. We have seen improvements from road transport, water, waste and recycling targets. The next task for Government is to get to grips with its supply chain, and to look at the performance of all Government agencies, including its non-departmental public bodies.

"The world is coming to understand the urgent need to cut carbon dioxide emissions and live within environmental limits. The Government now needs to make sure that its own performance matches the scale of the challenge."

The Government's Chief Sustainability Officer, William Jordan said:

"Continued improvement is being made by departments on achieving their targets on sustainability, and I congratulate those who have contributed to the successes shown in the data we have published today. These demonstrate significant improvements in reducing carbon dioxide emissions from road vehicles, reducing waste and water consumption, and increasing recycling. We are confident that if departments carry on the implementation of a number of strategies for sustainable operations that Government will exceed all of its targets."

The Sustainable Development in Government 2009 data and a copy of the Delivery Plan Update, which describes the work government will do to continue to improve performance, can be accessed from the OGC website from 9am 18th December by following this link: http://www.ogc.gov.uk/sustainability_programme_progress.asp

For Sustainable Development Commission commentary on the Sustainable Development in Government results (available from 9am18th December) click here: http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/

Notes to editors

About the Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) 2009 data and the Delivery Plan Update
In June 2006 the Prime Minister announced Sustainable Operations for the Government Estate (SOGE) targets (PDF, 574KB) to which all Government departments and Executive Agencies have signed up to achieving, including carbon and waste reduction, and energy and water efficiencies. The UK Government Sustainable Procurement Action Plan is a package of actions announced in March 2007 to deliver the step change needed to ensure that supply chains and public services will be increasingly low carbon, low waste and water efficient, respect biodiversity and deliver wider sustainable development goals.  The Action Plan forms the Government's key response to the report of the business-led Sustainable Procurement Task Force.

From 2009 the OGC has responsibility for reporting annually on sustainable operations and procurement performance through the Sustainable Development in Government survey results.

The Delivery Plan Update summarises the latest information on government performance and the activities it has in place in relation to the achievement of the Sustainable Operation of the Government Estate and Sustainable Procurement Action Plan targets.  They reflect the most recent information on departmental performance. The trajectories and milestones, and the Delivery Plan itself is revised every 6 months.

About the Sustainable Development Commission:
The Sustainable Development Commission is the Government's independent advisory body on sustainability issues, made up of 11 Commissioners, and chaired by Will Day. It reports directly to the Prime Minister, the First Ministers of Scotland and Wales and the First and Deputy First Ministers of Northern Ireland

The Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement
The 2007 Budget announced the creation of a Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement (CESP) within the OGC.  This centre forms a key part of the Government's response to the Sustainable Development Commission's (SDC) 6th Annual Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) report.  The CESP is designed to help promote sustainability through the integration of government procurement and the government estate.  The CESP also provides stronger central coordination of performance management, as well as guidance and support to help departments develop the capability to deliver the Government's sustainability commitments.

About the OGC

The OGC is an independent office of HM Treasury, established to help government deliver best value from its spending. The OGC works with central government departments and other public sector organisations to ensure the achievement of six key goals:

• Delivery of value for money from third party spend; 
• Delivery of projects to time, quality and cost, realising benefits;
• Getting the best from the government's £30bn estate;
• Improving the sustainability of the government estate and operations, including reducing carbon emissions by 12.5% by 2010-11, through stronger performance management and guidance;
• Helping achieve delivery of further government policy goals, including innovation, equality, and support for small and medium enterprises (SMEs);
• And driving forward the improvement of central government capability in procurement, project and programme management, and estates management through the development of people skills, processes and tools.

OGC provides policy standards and guidance on best practice in procurement, projects and estate management, and monitors and challenges departments' performance against these standards, grounded in an evidence base of information and assurance. It promotes and fosters collaborative procurement across the public sector to deliver better value for money and better public services; and it provides innovative ways to develop government's commercial and procurement capability, including leadership of the Government Procurement Service.

Media contact:
Michael Dunning, Media Relations Manager, OGC
T: 020 7271 1318
M: 07771 815245
E: michael.dunning@ogc.gsi.gov.uk

Contact details:
OGC Service Desk
Tel: 0845 000 4999
E-mail: ServiceDesk@ogc.gsi.gov.uk