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Becoming the “Greenest Government Ever”

by 27 Jul 2010

The Sustainable Development Commission has published its fifth annual watchdog report on Government progress against its Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate targets.

The report finds that sustainability measures are already saving Government £60-70 million every year with the potential for far greater further savings as the new Government works to become the “Greenest Government ever”.

SDC report headline figuresHeadline figures from the cover of the SDC report (see pages 16,17 of the full report for details of measures, targets and scores)

Delivering more for less

In his foreword, Will Day, chair of the SDC, stresses that sustainable development is essential to real efficiency and meaningful environmental progress:

“Sustainable development is no peripheral, nice-to-have concept for times when it can be afforded.

“It is the best way of delivering more for less, while ensuring that the drive for efficiencies doesn’t cost more in the long run. Because only a government which takes into account the full range of its impacts, now and in the future, can claim to be the greenest government ever.”

Calling for the Coalition Government to step up its green ambitions in order to benefit from further efficiency savings, the report concludes that sustainable development will provide a framework to reduce the deficit and work towards environmental and social priorities.

Significant savings despite the slow pace of change

The report’s analysis relates to progress under the previous Government, which achieved significant savings despite a “slow pace of change”:

“Improvements in energy and water consumption, waste, recycling and road transport performance are likely to add up to £300-350 million over the next five years, even if no further progress is made. This includes:

  • £13.7 million fuel savings from reduced road travel in 2008-09 alone. This also saved the equivalent of 1.7 million hours of staff time – over 1,000 full time staff working a full year – without counting the savings from reduced car purchases, repairs and administration
  • Savings of 18 million cubic metres of water – the equivalent of 7,200 Olympic swimming pools, adding up to £13 million worth of water bills in 2008-09
  • Landfill cost savings from reducing waste by 126,000 tonnes in 2009-08 – the equivalent of the total waste produced by over 250,000 UK individuals”

The Coalition Government’s commitment to cut emissions from central Government by 10% in its first year has the potential to benefits to society equivalent to £13 million, as well as savings from lower energy bills.

Looking at more than just carbon

Carbon reduction offers significant savings but there’s also much potential for savings and other benefits in measures to reduce use of water and other resources.

Examples of potential savings from reduction in carbon emissions and resource use include:

  • Cutting road transport by Government staff by a further 10% could save £7.5 million in fuel costs, 14,927 tonnes of carbon, and around 102,000 days of employee time with minimal investment
  • A further 10% reduction in waste arisings and water consumption would allow Government to benefit from savings of a further £6.5 million annually
  • Increasing the lifespan of staff computers from three to five years is already saving the Department of Work and Pensions £35 million. Adopting similar approaches to demand management across Government could multiply the savings many times
  • Meeting the 2022 target for energy usage set out in the Low Carbon Transition Plan would deliver between £79 million and £235 million savings from reduced electricity, gas and petroleum bills

Factors for and against progress

The report attributes progress to date to the following factors:

  • Clear focus on improving particular areas of operational performance
  • Leadership within departments, and the effort and passion of departmental staff who have often driven the agenda within their own organisations
  • Support and guidance from the Centre of Expertise for Sustainable Procurement (CESP) – now in the Cabinet Office
  • Improving transparency and accountability about Government’s performance through published data – independently scrutinised by the SDC

Other factors have impeded progress:

  • Slow improvement in quality of data and a lack of transparency over impacts
  • Lack of leadership from the centre of Government
  • Lack of definitive commitments that drive behaviour change
  • Over-reliance on a narrow target framework that has resulted in patchy examples of innovative practice

The way forward

The SDC makes recommendations for “immediate, effective steps will deliver swift financial and environmental benefits”:

  • Meet the commitment enshrined in the coalition agreement to “reduce central government carbon emissions by 10% in 12 months”
  • Use demand management and behaviour change measures to drive out waste and inefficiency across departments
  • Improve the delivery structure for operations and procurement
  • Put sustainability at the heart of civil service appraisal and staff development processes

And further more strategic elements of a more sustainable Government are described:

  • Getting to grips with the full extent of the Government’s supply chain
    (the use of CAESER by HMRC and the Home Office is cited as a positive example)
  • Transparency and direction of travel
  • Government sphere of influence and the potential for change

In conclusion:

While the task ahead may appear daunting to already stretched departments, the progress already achieved in both the public and private sectors demonstrates that there are clear benefits of a sustainable development approach and the challenge to run government more sustainably is one that it is worth overcoming. The new Government needs to learn from the experience of the private sector and build on some excellent high level commitments. It needs to commit to sustainable development and take decisive action to ensure that it achieves its aspirations.

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