Memorandum submitted by Office of Government
Commerce
INTRODUCTION
This is the Government response to the Environmental
Audit Committee's Inquiry: Making government operations more
sustainable: a progress check. This response provides a summary
of highlights and addresses the 15 specific subjects on which
the Committee sought comments on 18 March 2008.
SUMMARY
The Government recognises the importance of
making its operations more sustainable and welcomes the opportunity
to account for the progress that has been made and recent changes
to its arrangements for supporting departments' efforts in this
area.
On 18 March, the Government published its response
to the Sustainable Development Commission's latest report on Sustainable
Development in Government (SDiG).[4]
This response reports on actions taken and planned, centrally
and by individual departments, to achieve the sustainable operations
targets for the government estate, which include targets to reduce
carbon emissions.
The central actions taken include:
— the announcement in the 2008 Budget,
of plans to establish a "Centre of Expertise in Sustainable
Procurement" (CESP), overseen by a new Director General Post
of Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO) within the Office of Government
Commerce (OGC);
— OGC, via the CESP, will lead on the
delivery of government operational targets and mandates with the
support of the Cabinet Secretary who recently made delivery of
the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets
and Sustainable Procurement Action Plan (SPAP) commitments one
of the four corporate priorities for the Civil Service;
— the inclusion within Permanent Secretaries
performance objectives of delivery of those commitments to hold
them accountable for their department's performance;
— provision of additional financial
support to departments through Salix Finance, a revolving loan
fund that enables departments to invest in energy efficiency capital
projects.
Defra will continue to lead on setting overarching
Sustainable Development strategy. Defra and other relevant departments
will continue to lead on their specific policy issues, including
the level of ambition of government targets.
This builds upon previous government activity
including:
— UK Government Sustainable Development
Strategy—Securing the Future;
— the Framework for Sustainable Development
on the Government Estate, published in stages from July 2002 and
the revised SOGE targets, covering energy, water, waste, travel,
construction and procurement;
— the Sustainable Procurement and Operations
Board (SPOB) chaired by Sir Ian Andrews (2nd Permanent Secretary
at the Ministry of Defence) and made up of representatives from
key departments;
— the publication of the SPAP in March
2007.
Government has strengthened its governance arrangements,
assurance mechanisms and leadership through work by the SPOB,
and will build on this through the foundation of the CESP within
OGC. OGC will now take this agenda forward and address the need
for stronger integration between the government's action on procurement
and the government estate, and the drive to achieve SOGE targets
and SPAP commitments. The objectives of the CESP will be:
— to provide strong central coordination
of performance management principally through the development
of delivery plans with milestones and trajectories to assure delivery
against the SOGE and SPAP commitments. These plans will be published
in Summer 2008;
— to take account of the recommendations
of the SDiG within the context of that delivery plan;
— develop guidance to assist departments
in improving performance and clarify the applicability and context
of the targets and mandates;
— to set out further actions that will
remove barriers that prevent further progress in government; and
— to raise government's capability
and leadership in sustainable procurement and operations.
The Government response highlighted action that
has been taken since the period considered in the 6th SDiG report.
This includes a wide range of activity, some of which is recognised
in case studies of the SDC report itself, and much of which has
been initiated in response to last year's SDC report.
How successfully is the Government providing centralised
leadership, guidance, and funding for Departments and Agencies?
How well are Departments making use of expertise and funding provided
by central bodies, as well as each other? Should anything be done
to improve co-ordination?
1. Building on work by the SPOB, stronger
cross-Whitehall collaboration will be addressed through, the establishment
of the CESP within OGC, and the creation of a new "top 200"
Director General post of Chief Sustainability Officer responsible
for overseeing delivery of government commitments set out in the
SPAP published March 2007.
2. OGC, via the CESP, under the leadership
of the CSO, will address the need for stronger integration between
the government's action on procurement and the government estate
and the drive to achieve SOGE targets and SPAP commitments. Its
objectives will be to:
— to provide strong central coordination
of performance management principally through the development
of delivery plans with milestones and trajectories to assure delivery
against the SOGE and SPAP commitments. These plans will be published
in Summer 2008;
— to take account of all the recommendations
of the SDiG within the context of those delivery plans;
— develop guidance to assist departments
in improving performance and clarify the applicability and context
of the targets and mandates;
— to set out further actions that will
remove barriers that prevent further progress in government; and
— to raise government's capability
and leadership in sustainable procurement and operations.
3. The basis for placing leadership for
delivery of government operational targets within OGC is its unique
position within central government, where it holds responsibility
for procurement policy and collaborative procurement, and performance
of the government estate. Locating the CESP within this context
gives ready access to strong central mechanisms which will assure
delivery of the SOGE targets and SPAP commitments.
4. Defra will continue to lead on setting
the overarching Sustainable Development strategy. Defra and other
relevant departments will continue to lead on policy issues including
the level of ambition of government targets.
5. OGC will work closely with Defra and
other departments, to ensure that the delivery plans are aligned
with current policy and to ensure that they anticipate and support
future policy developments.
How well are Sustainable Operations on the Government
Estate (SOGE) data and targets embedded into core management information
systems and priorities within Departments and Agencies? How could
this be improved?
6. OGC's Property Benchmarking Service,
delivered through the central government property database, ePIMS,
already captures a number of key sustainability metrics at an
individual building level; these include energy consumption, water
consumption and solid waste recycling. Performance is analysed,
benchmarked and reported against equivalent private sector buildings.
A new tool "The Property Interrogator" will supplement
this analysis, providing decision makers with visibility of key
performance indicators in real time across the estate. The Property
Benchmarking Service is now mandatory (from 1 April 2008) for
all office occupations over 500 m2 on the estate.
7. Working alongside the SDC, OGC is taking
forward plans to enhance ePIMS to provide the platform for data
capture and handling of data for future SDiG surveys. Use of ePIMS
will significantly enhance the availability of hard-edged real
time performance data for measurement against the majority of
the SOGE targets and will offer the scope to analyse individual
building sustainability performance at source-taking the current
SDiG department perspective to another level. It will also help
reduce the reporting burden on departments while ensuring OGC
and the CESP has the data needed to perform an effective scrutiny
and challenge role.
Why has progress in reducing carbon emissions
from the Government Estate been so poor? What should be done to
accelerate progress?
8. The 6th SDiG report shows that overall
carbon emissions from the government estate have fallen by 4%
against the baseline year. Factors that may have limited further
progress include:
— an increase in the size of the government
estate from 1999-2000 to 2005-06;
— the increase in energy usage from
ICT equipment and increased air conditioning.
9. Government are confident that actions
taken over the last 12 months have improved performance further—and
that this will be reflected when the SDC comes to report on government's
performance over the past 12 months.
10. Case studies in the 6th SDiG report
illustrate recent progress that has been achieved over the past
12 months. For example, DWP has succeeded in achieving a 14% energy
reduction from its 300 largest buildings (which consume around
75% of total DWP energy). A reduction of at least 10% should therefore
be achieved across the estate as a whole for the last 12 months,
reversing what had been a consistent upward trend.
11. The Government has also put in place
measures to make further progress. One of the barriers has been
a perceived lack of upfront finance to allow investment in energy
services. To address this, an independent company Salix Finance
was set up by The Carbon Trust in 2004 to provide loans to public
and private sector organisations, which are required to provide
match funding and establish an on-going "ring-fenced"
energy efficiency fund. The loans, once established, continue
to deliver energy and emission savings over time, with recycled
energy savings split between the revolving fund and released for
front-line services. Anticipated public sector savings have been
estimated as 0.1 MtC (Million tonnes Carbon) by 2010. An additional
£30 million of funding has been announced for Salix over
the next three years as part of the Environmental Transformation
Fund.
12. As part of its Carbon Management Programme,
Defra has installed a power management tool that optimises electricity
as it enters a building, creating a steady flow at a consistently
low, but optimised voltage. This reduces electricity consumption,
costs and carbon emissions.
13. Most public sector bodies in England
are able to access Salix Finance, including NHS Foundation Trusts.
The NHS launched a £100 million Energy and Environment Fund
early in 2007, which is a three year funding scheme to help improve
energy efficiency across the NHS estate in England.
14. Partnerships for Renewables (PfR), is
an independent commercial company set up by Carbon Trust Enterprise.
The PfR team works exclusively with public sector bodies to develop
and manage on-site wind projects on public sector land in the
UK.
15. Government has a growing understanding
of the drivers of performance, and as our data improves, we are
able to analyse more effectively these drivers and address them
in order to accelerate progress.
16. On carbon emissions one of the critical
drivers is the size of the government estate. NAO analysis[5]
of the data government provided to the BRE shows that the square
metreage on which government reports to BRE had, by 2005-06, grown
by 7% since 1999-2000. Our analysis of departmental returns suggests
however, that this reflects more comprehensive reporting to BRE
by government departments. Rationalisation of the estate is a
powerful driver of reduced carbon emissions. The BERR "two
roofs" strategy has been a significant contributor to reduced
emissions in that department. Exploiting the 500 lease breaks
in the government property portfolio to rationalise the estate
and drive sustainability will be a key task for the CESP and OGC's
Government Estate Team.
17. Another key driver is the use of electricity.
NAO figures suggest that government as a whole has used more electricity
(12%) and less gas (9%) since 1999-2000. Further analysis of the
increase in electricity use is required. We believe that part
of the increase may be caused by increased use of ICT. In DWP,
for example, one driver of the upward trend in emissions (now
reversed) has been the upgrading of ICT to customer-facing staff
(to allow, among other things, better access for customers to
employment information) and extended opening hours.
18. More generally, recent ICT equipment
requires more electricity than its 1999 equivalents. Having identified
this issue we are now seeking to address it: OGC has worked with
DCMS to develop a pan-Government framework for ICT power management
software, which will be available in 2008-09. The Chief Information
Officers Council will be setting out a detailed plan to drive
down the consumption of electricity by government's ICT and reduce
its other environmental impacts in Summer 2008.
Should targets for energy use be framed in terms
of absolute reductions in consumption, as opposed to improvements
in energy efficiency?
19. The SOGE targets cover carbon reduction
targets from offices and whole estate energy efficiency. Together
these provide the basis for an analysis of performance that can
help to explain variations between years. It is important, having
agreed the targets in 2006, that departments remain focused on
their delivery. But government will review this target in the
light of the potentially perverse consequences identified by the
SDC and by the NAO. Whilst energy efficiency performance can appear
to worsen where a department has rationalised its estate, energy
use per square metre is a useful indicator of performance, for
individual buildings—and for an estate where the mix of
air-conditioned and naturally ventilated buildings does not change.
20. The Carbon Reduction Commitment will
provide government departments with an important incentive to
achieve emissions reductions from their entire estate. The scheme
is designed to drive energy efficiency and carbon savings by giving
organisations a financial incentive to do so through emissions
trading (through downstream carbon pricing and the risks and rewards
implied by the revenue recycling mechanism), and combining this
with reputational incentives (through the performance league table).
How should the Government treat the purchase by
departments of electricity from "green tariff" contracts?
21. Current policy is that government departments
should not claim zero carbon from green tariffs without the retirement
of associated Renewable Obligation Certificates.[6]
As reporting standards remain in their infancy this can make the
public sector appear worse than some private companies who use
the purchase of electricity from green tariff contracts as a contributor
towards their carbon reduction efforts.
22. As highlighted in Government's response
to the 6th SDiG report, government departments have made strong
progress in buying energy from green sources. Over the past year,
public sector bodies (including the wider public sector) have
bought 1536 GWh of energy from sustainable sources exempt from
the Climate Change Levy, supporting the market for renewable sustainable
energy. This represents 20% of the energy bought under these arrangements,
against a UK average of 4.6%. Current data from departments suggest
that 28% of electricity consumed in 2006-07 was provided from
renewable sources.
What should be done to accelerate progress from
departments in using Combined Heat and Power (CHP), and sourcing
electricity from onsite renewables?
23. Government has introduced a range of
measures to support the growth in Good Quality CHP capacity, where
Good Quality denotes schemes certified as highly efficient under
the CHP Quality Assurance Programme. These include exemption from
the Climate Change Levy, a constructive regime for CHP in the
EU Emissions Trading Scheme, and eligibility for Enhanced Capital
Allowances for CHP plant and machinery.
24. The SOGE targets include a CHP target
from the earlier Framework for Sustainable Development on the
Government Estate requiring departments to source at least 15%
of electricity from CHP by 2010. Departments which source 100%
of their electricity from renewable resources are exempt from
this target.
25. The 2007 SDiG report showed that 13
out of 21 departments had made excellent progress against either
the renewable energy target or the CHP target, with 12 out of
13 doing so through purchase of renewable energy tariffs.
26. CHP is more cost-effective where there
is a large, steady heat demand, and where there is a large gap
between the gas price and the electricity price. This gap has
not existed over the past few years, so investment in on-site
CHP has not been as attractive a solution as it was in the 1990s.
27. In addition to investing in CHP and
switching to renewable energy tariffs, departments have been encouraged
to consider the installation of on-site renewable sources of energy.
For example, in October 2005 Whitehall's energy-saving District
Heating System was opened. The CHP system provides heat to 18
government departments, including Number 10 and the Treasury.
It is estimated that the energy-efficient plant saves taxpayers
a projected £140,000 a year in net running costs.
28. Phase two of BERR's Low Carbon Buildings
Programme (www.lowcarbonbuildingsphase2.org.uk) provides capital
grant funding of 50% of eligible costs (up to £1 million)
for government departments, public sector bodies and some charitable
organisations to install micro-generation equipment on their buildings.
How should Departments and Agencies make better
progress on reducing CO2 emissions from their use of road vehicles?
29. The May 2007 Energy White Paper set
out government action to reduce CO2 emissions from the use of
road vehicles: the government committed to ensuring that, by 2010-11,
new passenger cars procured by central government departments
and their agencies for administrative purposes will emit 130 gCO2/km
or less on average across the new car fleet. The Department for
Transport has circulated guidance to other government departments
on how they can achieve this in practice.
30. Procurement, particularly the Fleet
Collaborative Category, has a key role to play in ensuring government
delivers this commitment. The OGC Fleet Vehicle database reveals
considerable success in promoting low fuel consumption across
Whitehall and the wider public sector (notably in the NHS). Of
vehicles on the database, almost all delivered since the start
of 2007, and purchased through two frameworks (the NHS PaSA Lease
framework and the DWP Vehicle Purchase framework), 2450 vehicles
(26.0%) have CO2 emissions of 130 g/km or under, and 1287 (13.7%)
have emission of 120 g/km or under.
31. The May 2007 Energy White Paper also
announced the development of a new programme to promote public
sector procurement of innovative, lower-carbon vehicle models.
The programme, which has initial funding of £20 million,
will support demonstrations in public sector fleets, to provide
early markets for lower-carbon vehicle technologies. In the first
phase, the programme will support development of a lower-carbon
van. The first tender for the vehicles is expected to be issued
later in 2008.
32. In responding to the 6th SDiG report,
government highlighted that progress had been made in reducing
carbon dioxide emissions from road vehicles. For example, HMRC
has successfully reduced its road travel related carbon emissions
by almost 12% through the implementation of a sustainable fleet
management policy and by changing staff travel behaviours. It
has reduced its fleet by 387 vehicles and restricted vehicle performance
to average CO2 emissions of 119 g/km. The majority of pool cars
are now dual-fuel or hybrid and, following a review of its private
user scheme, grey fleet vehicles are restricted to a maximum of
170 g/km CO2. This figure will be reduced further over the next
few years. Staff are strongly encouraged to make better use of
video and telephone conferencing facilities and, where travel
is necessary, to consider rail travel in preference to car or
air.
What controls should the Government place on its
use of carbon credits to meet its target of carbon neutrality?
33. A new project has been created in Defra
which will lead work to establish the rules for wider government
offsetting initiatives. The CESP is defining the scope of the
carbon neutrality target and will write guidance for other government
departments on how they can achieve this. This work is supported
by the SDC and The Carbon Trust. Achieving carbon neutrality requires
more than calculating emissions to be offset. Government will
only use offsetting once all other measures have been considered.
How does the new set of targets under the SOGE
framework, established in 2006, compare with the previous set,
established in 2002 and 2004? What are the advantages of the new
set? Has anything important been lost? Should any new targets
be added? Are the targets at the right level of ambition?
34. The Framework for Sustainable Development
on the Government Estate was published in stages from July 2002.
It was the Government's main vehicle for systematically assessing,
reporting and improving its performance and was agreed by all
government departments.
35. The Sustainable Procurement and Operations
Board (SPOB) was asked to review the Framework targets. The SPOB
was chaired by Sir Ian Andrews (2nd PUS, MoD) and made up of representatives
of key departments.
36. When the original targets were reviewed,
evidence suggested there were too many unrelated operational targets
in the original Framework to deliver improvements. Initial findings,
which Ministers endorsed in November 2005, were that action was
required in three areas:
— fewer, more stretching, outcome-based
targets with a long term focus;
37. In 2006, Defra launched revised SOGE
targets, covering energy, water, waste, travel, construction and
procurement. These targets are more demanding and require departments
to implement a series of supporting mandates and sustainable procurement
requirements. In particular, new builds and major refurbishment
projects are required to achieve a BREEAM rating, or equivalent,
of "excellent" and "very good" respectively.
A full analysis of the current target set and comparisons with
earlier targets can be found at Annex B.
We believe that government should focus on delivering
progress against these targets before looking to introduce new
targets.
SOGE targets currently cover core Departments
and Executive Agencies. Is this adequate, or should they be extended
to cover all Executive NDPBs (Non-Departmental Public Bodies)—especially
given the growing volume of Government business covered by arm's-length
bodies?
38. The SOGE Framework applies to all central
government departments (ministerial and non-ministerial) and their
Executive Agencies. 52 of the 61 Executive Agencies were included
in the 6th SDiG report, and CESP will work with departments to
extend the scope of this reporting, to ensure all agencies report
in coming years.
39. Government already reports across operational
as well as office estates in many cases (including prisons, the
probation service, courts, Defra laboratories, Defence estate,
DWP and HMRC caller offices) and will continue to encourage departments
to widen the scope of reporting to ensure the true footprint of
government activity is captured. CESP will identify and disseminate
best practice and work with departments to ensure key NDPBs are
aware of the targets, commitments and best practice. We will also
explore how to best use existing governance arrangements to encourage
NDPBs to consider measuring and reducing their environmental impact
where practical and relevant.
How well is the Government accounting for the
changing shape of the Government Estate? How should it manage
the changes to responsibilities and data caused when functions
are transferred to new Departments or the private sector?
40. On occasion the government estate changes
to reflect operational needs, for example the inclusion of the
Magistrates Court Service within the Ministry of Justice. This
can cause issues in reporting the performance of this estate where
responsibility for a site changes, or the estate changes in size.
A key recommendation of the SDC, accepted by government and to
be delivered by the CESP, is to establish a central register to
track changes to the estate. This will enable changes to baselines
to be identified and agreed.
Why are some Departments not including "Quick
Wins" clauses in their contracts, when this has been mandatory
since 2003? Why do so few catering contracts have a sustainability
clause? What more should be done to embed sustainability into
Government procurement?
41. The "Quick Wins" minimum product
standards were first introduced in 2003 and a revised and expanded
version was mandated in 2007 as part of the SPAP. Uptake of these
standards has not been consistent across government. Government
has taken action to address the wider issues surrounding uptake
of "Quick Wins". Defra and OGC have been working together
in the last six months to review the "Quick Wins" approach,
improving its accessibility through extending the range of products
for which standards are proposed and encouraging the use of pan-government
collaborative procurement contracts that will ensure that these
mandatory minimum product specifications are met. The CESP will
help to drive this work, and develop means of reporting performance
and managing uptake of the standards.
42. However, there are examples of departments
embedding "Quick Wins" within their procurement processes.
For example, Defra work with suppliers for major capital development
projects to ensure that any products in the following categories
meet or exceed the required "Quick Wins" standard:
— water using appliances (low flush
toilets);
— air conditioning units;
— all wood used in construction projects;
and
CATERING
43. The public sector comprises a vast number
of diverse organisations. Each is responsible for its own operations
and many have different priorities. Government has provided focus
and guidance in this area through the Public Sector Food Procurement
Initiative (PSFPI) programme. The PSFPI provides procurers with
tools to help them consider sustainability issues such as environmental
impacts, health, nutrition and opportunities for small and local
suppliers to bid for government contracts. A more user-friendly
version of the toolkit was recently published on the PSFPI website
and is being promoted across the public sector.
EMBEDDING SUSTAINABILITY
INTO PROCUREMENT
44. The procurement of common goods and
services represents a major opportunity for government to drive
improvements in the sustainability of its operations, and of its
supply base. The government is committed to collaborative procurement
of common goods and services, covering initially the categories
fleet, travel, energy and ICT. This will be a major driver of
both value for money and sustainability. What matters is what
we buy, but also how we manage demand and policy.
45. OGC's Collaborative Procurement Directorate
works with government departments and other public bodies to influence
£72 billion of common spend. In 2007-08 over £565 million
has been saved through collaboration, and strong progress in embedding
sustainability into collaboration activities has been made.
46. C will build on this in the coming year
by developing KPIs for sustainability in the collaborative categories.
The KPIs will cover four key areas:
— reduction in carbon emissions;
— financial savings directly attributable
to sustainability activity;
— category level measures—such
as use of environmental product specifications; and
— supply base—assess and measure
environmental credentials.
47. Reporting in this way will support the
work to embed sustainability as a "business as usual"
activity within pan-government procurement and allow for the performance
of sustainability initiatives to be monitored and reported in
the same way as value for money is currently.
48. The CESP will provide departments with
guidance and support in embedding sustainability within all their
procurement activities. This will build on the work already undertaken
by Defra and OGC.
How well is the Government approaching the environmental
management of premises and operations which are outsourced or
run under the Private Finance Initiative? Could this be improved,
and if so, how?
49. Government recognises the importance
of capturing the full impact of its operations, even those managed
by a third party. By working constructively with PFI and outsource
providers, contracts can be managed to ensure that suppliers meet
the requirements of the SOGE Framework, ensuring that departments
are able to measure, report and manage the full extent of their
operations.
50. A strong example of this is the development
at Allenby/Connaught, the largest estates PFI contract ever awarded
by the Ministry of Defence. The 35 year, £8 billion project
is developing a living and working environment for 18,700 personnel.
A 10-year construction programme will demolish 400 buildings,
construct 365 new buildings and carry out 140 refurbishments.
This is the largest BREEAM certification project in the UK with
new buildings designed to achieve "Excellent" and refurbishments
"Very Good" ratings. Modular construction ensures efficiency
and waste minimisation, and an onsite waste transfer station achieves
80% recycling. 97% of demolition waste is crushed and reused on
site.
51. The building designs incorporate best
practice energy efficiency and low carbon energy technologies
including solar thermal water heating and micro-CHP systems estimated
to save 1,400 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually. Water efficiency
and sustainable urban drainage systems feature throughout, including
rainwater harvesting. Each new accommodation building is served
by a rainwater harvesting system. Given the number of the systems
to be installed, the rainwater harvesting scheme is one of the
largest ever undertaken in the UK. The project won Building Magazine's
Sustainable Development of the Year Award and Best Sustainability
Initiative for the Public Sector Award for 2007.
52. The procurement of out sourced services
can also be used to support delivery of sustainability objectives.
Land Securities Trillium (LST) provide fully serviced accommodation
to the DWP across over 1,000 sites via a 20 year PFI agreement.
The Department's Sustainable Development Team work in close partnership
with LST to identify, develop and implement innovative technical
and housekeeping measures to reduce energy and water use, reduce
waste and increase recycling, and meet sustainable operations
targets. Major improvements have been achieved over the past year,
particularly on office carbon emissions.
OTHER ISSUES
What is the key to the progress shown by Departments
and Agencies in reducing waste and increasing recycling? Are there
any wider lessons which could improve performance in other areas?
53. There are a number of key drivers in
waste. Site consolidations, refurbishments and closures often
generate an increase in waste in any one year, as offices are
emptied. Further work is needed to understand the scale of these
non-routine waste arisings to establish their overall likely impact
on the achievement of waste targets. This will be considered in
the forthcoming Delivery Plan being developed by the CESP.
54. By ensuring effective waste segregation
at source, departments are able to understand exactly what waste
is generated and in particular what processes on the site/establishment
generate the waste. With this information, other options in the
waste hierarchy can be explored.
55. Another key driver to improving performance
is considering waste as a resource which can be used elsewhere,
not as a bi-product of a service or operation. Procuring the correct
waste management services, ensuring contractors have the fleet
and infrastructure to support the waste they are being given to
manage is also important. An example of this is the work by Defra
on food waste. Defra has recently established a new food and biodegradable
waste collection. Food waste is collected from the restaurants
in its London sites and taken to a local waste processing facility.
Using an accelerated composting machine compost is produced from
the waste and is made available to community groups. The new scheme
diverts biodegradable waste from landfill/incineration, and increases
recycling.
56. The understanding of these drivers and
enablers has enabled many departments to take steps to address
their waste management approach, and deliver improvements in performance,
as reflected in the 6th SDiG report. For example, HMT and HMRC
have achieved recycling rates in the current year at 1 Horse Guards
Road/100 Parliament Street that are above 50% for the building.
This is fully reported in the SDiG report in the case study reported
at Box 4.1. As the footnote to that text box illustrates, HMT
reported performance on this measure is 17.4% for 2006-07 so they
have achieved a marked improvement in the past year.
57. For routine waste, many departments
now offer wide ranging recycling facilities for products such
as paper, batteries and mobile telephones. There is an increasing
move to "binless" office systems, such as that implemented
by DCMS, where they saw recycling levels increase from 10% to
60%.
58. A further example of Departmental work
on waste management can be found in the MoD. In recognition of
the challenging nature of the diverse 4000-site defence estate
and the varied waste streams it manages. the MoD commissioned
a specialist consultancy to undertake a waste improvement study.
The study examined how MoD managed waste and involved a series
of audits across the estate. The key recommendation was the formation
of a pan-MoD Waste Management Authority that would maximise purchasing
power, increase efficiencies in waste collections and standardise
waste practices.
59. The MoD has also taken action to improve
waste management on its St Athan site. St Athan's implemented
a sustainability and recycling strategy that saw the site move
from scrap, salvage and skip collection of its waste to a recycling
rate of over 70%, resulting in 105 tonnes of waste being diverted
from landfill since the scheme's launch in September 2007. In
recognition of this the team received two awards at the UK National
Recycling and Sustainability Awards held in February 2008; Best
Recycling and Sustainability Initiative and Best Recycling Team
and Manager. In addition the team were also crowned national champions.
MoD plan to build on this success sharing good practice across
other sites.
Is protecting biodiversity on their landholdings
a high enough priority in relevant Departments and Agencies? Does
more need to be done to protect biodiversity on landholdings that
are not classed as Sites of Special Scientific Interest?
60. More can always be done to conserve
biodiversity. For that reason we are seeking to embed biodiversity
into the decision making of all sectors through the England Biodiversity
Strategy.
61. The 2006 SOGE Framework included a target
for departments management of Sites of Special Scientific Interest
(SSSI's) in sole ownership or control to ensure that 95% or more
were in the target condition by 2010. Government is already delivering
strong progress against this commitment. In the most recent report
SDC rated overall government performance as "Green"
with two of the six departments the target applies to exceeding
the target.
62. The government estate is complex and
comprised of a diverse range of sites which require tailored management
of bio-diversity considerations. For example, the Forestry Commission
manages the public forest estate, promoting and maintaining forestry;
the Highways Agency manages road verges for biodiversity; the
MoD, which has management responsibility for around 170 SSSIs,
has a department-wide biodiversity strategic statement and has
undertaken biodiversity audits on its estate. Biodiversity conservation
is implemented at the local level through Conservation Management
Plans, Integrated Land Management Plans and, Integrated Rural
Management Plans. The grounds in some schools and prisons are
also managed for biodiversity benefit. These actions are not limited
to land notified as SSSIs.
63. Section 40 of the Natural Environment
and Rural Communities Act 2006 introduced a new duty on all public
authorities to have regard to biodiversity conservation when exercising
their functions. This extends to managing their estates. Furthermore,
Public Service Agreement (PSA) 28, has biodiversity valued, safeguarded
and enhanced as part of its vision, and has identified government
departments, such as DfT and DCLG as formal partners in the delivery
of the PSA.
23 April 2008
Annex B
SOGE TARGETS AND PREVIOUS FRAMEWORK
SOGE Targets
| Previous Framework Targets |
| Carbon emissions from offices |
Reverse the current upward trend in carbon emissions by April 2007.
| N/A |
| Reduce carbon emissions by 12.5% by 2010-11, relative to 1999-00 levels.
| Government departments to reduce absolute carbon, from fuel and electricity used in buildings on their estate by 12.5% by 2010-11, relative to 1999-00.
|
| Reduce carbon emissions by 30% by 2020, relative to 1999-00 levels.
| |
Carbon emissions from road vehicles
|
Reduce carbon emissions from road vehicles used for government administrative operations by 15% by 2010-11, relative to 2005-06 levels.
| Reduce road transport vehicle CO2 emissions by at least 10% by 31 March 2006 (against a baseline year of 2002-03), to be achieved through any combination of three options: Reducing total business vehicle mileage; improving the average fuel efficiency of vehicles and; or reducing total fuel consumed.
|
Carbon Neutral |
Central government's office estate to be carbon neutral by 2012.
| N/A |
Energy Efficiency & Renewables
|
Departments to increase their energy efficiency per m2 by 15% by 2010, relative to 1999-00 levels.
| Government departments to increase the energy efficiency of the buildings on their estate, measured in terms of kWh of 1) fuel and 2) electricity use per square meter of building floor area,67 or estate area, by 15% by 2010-11 relative to 1999-00.
|
| Departments to increase their energy efficiency per m2 by 30% by 2020, relative to 1999-00 levels.
| |
Existing Sustainable Operational Commitments (to continue until completion)
|
Departments to source at least 10% of electricity from renewables (31 March 2008)
| Government departments are required to source at least 10% electricity from renewable sources by 31 March 2008 (2010 for the MOD). This will be measured by kilowatt hours for: Purchasing of renewable electricity; and self-generation of renewable electricity (excluding CHP).
|
| Departments to source at least 15% of electricity from Combined Heat and Power (2010)
| Source at least 15% electricity from Good Quality Combined Heat & Power by 2010 (with allowances for departments that already purchase 100% renewable energy).
|
Waste arisings |
Departments to reduce their waste arisings by 5% by 2010, relative to 2004-05 levels.
| From the date that total site arisings have been calculated, departments should reverse the upward trend in waste arisings, through progressive reduction by at least 1% per annum in total waste arisings generated, and where possible extend this to each type of waste arisings generated. For those departments that currently have no waste arisings data, site data must be circulated by December 2006 and reported on in the following period.
The D2 Target requires departments to measure and obtain a figure for waste arisings from a site. Put in place monitoring programmes incorporating comprehensive data collection methods for identifying and quantifying waste arisings in line with the timescales adopted in departmental strategies.
|
| Departments to reduce their waste arisings by 25% by 2020, relative to 2004-05 levels.
| |
Recycling |
Departments to increase their recycling figures to 40% of their waste arisings by 2010.
| The target for D4 is that as soon as recycling/composting figures from Target D2 have been established at a site or a unit of establishments, departments should increase these rates by at least 5% per annum with the aim of reaching 75% recycling/ composting rate overall. Where possible this should be extended to each type of waste arising generated.
|
| Departments to increase their recycling figures to 75% of their waste arisings by 2020.
| |
| Biodiversity |
Departments to meet or exceed the aim of having 95% of Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs) in sole ownership or control in target condition by 2010.
| The H4 target requires departments that own SSSIs to achieve at least 68% "favourable or "unfavourable recovering conditions status on sites by 2006, and 95% by 2010. `By 2006' has been interpreted as being by 1 January 2006.
|
Water consumption |
Reduce water consumption by 25% on the office and non-office estate by 2020, relative to 2004-05 levels.
| Reduce water consumption in office buildings where the department is the sole occupier or is billed for water services to an average of 7.7m3 per person per year by 31 March 2004; and to 7 m3 per person per year for all new buildings and major refurbishments where design commences after 2002.
|
| Reduce water consumption to an average of 3m3 per person/year for all new office builds or major office refurbishments. (1)
| N/A |
4
www.sd-commission.org.uk Back
5
Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions in Government Departments,
November 2007 Back
6
The Renewable Obligation is the mechanism by which government
works with the energy industry to increase the levels of renewable
energy generated in the UK. Back
| 
