Energy

Sustainability Overview

Wasted or avoidable electricity, gas, water and liquid fuels consumption is widespread across all buildings, from simultaneous heating and cooling, to leaving lights and computers on overnight. The main causes are often behavioural or simple technology 'fixes' that can reduce wasted energy. Energy use is not set, but controllable and should be managed accordingly.

In 2008/09 the energy spend across the public sector was estimated to be £3.8bn. It is thought that up to 20% of an energy bill can be reduced with simple measures at little cost, saving money on the bottom line. These can also translate into CO2 savings, enabling organisations to meet their environmental and corporate targets.

Sustainability is a work stream of the Pan Government Energy Project and is tasked with delivering £50m of the £300m in-year savings by 2010/11. The work stream is led by the Department of Energy and Climate Change. It is a key recommendation of the Pan Government Energy Project that all public sector organisations should have a programme of demand reduction in place to reduce energy consumption within their estate. The Government is committed to improving the sustainability of its operations and there are various targets on public sector organisations to improve sustainability. For example, central Government departments are required to meet Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets, which cover carbon emissions and energy efficiency.

Whats New?

Managing Energy Demand: A collaborative approach - A new guide which provides a high level overview of the key collaborative sustainability initiatives currently being promoted by the Office of Government Commerce and the Pan Government Energy project including procurement solutions (AMR, IT Power Management & Voltage Reduction), funding opportunities (Salix, Low Carbon Buildings Programme) and available support (CESP, Carbon Trust).

Print this page