NEWS
Government departments to cut energy bills and carbon emissions
It is estimated that the total public sector energy bill exceeds £4 billion per annum with the central government estate representing 25% of this and 75% being wider public sector, local government and non- departmental public bodies.
Garry Worthington is strategic manager at Climate Energy
W
ithin three days of the formation of the coalition government,
David Cameron announced a commitment to cut carbon emissions from central government by 10% over the next 12 months.
“I don’t want to hear warm words about the environment. I want to see real action. I want this to be the greenest government ever.”
Today, over 20 ministerial departments, government agencies and non-departmental public bodies have now committed to join forces and participate in the carbon and cost cutting programmes. Local authorities, NHS trusts, public sector financial institutions and universities have also committed to reduce carbon emissions by 25% within 5 years.
Collectively, the public sector is one of the largest land and property owners in the country with a wide diversity of buildings including houses, offices, schools, military bases, hospitals, prisons, courts, libraries and sports fields.
8 pse Jul/Aug 10
In terms of energy and cost saving potential systematic energy efficiency programmes can deliver savings of between 15% and 20%. In order to deliver higher reductions, investments may be required for system controls and for the upgrade and replacement of old, obsolete and inefficient equipment and systems. Given the size of the public sector, these savings could deliver annual savings between £20 million and £80 million per annum.
Whilst an energy efficiency programme could deliver significant savings through reduced energy consumption, there are many other ways in which carbon can be managed and systematically reduced, including transport and fleet management, employee engagement, waste reduction, recycling and resource
procurement. The starting point is to understand where your organisation is now in terms of energy consumption and carbon emissions.
From this baseline position, targets can be set and year on year improvements can be managed and monitored.
Longer term, it is important that energy and environmental management is embedded into your organisations business. Initially you may wish to seek the professional advice of consultants.
Energy efficiency and carbon reduction consultants are already experts in the business of carbon management and can help in a number of ways from assessing your current carbon footprint to through to integrating environmental management systems and processes.
All in all, the government’s commitment to cut emissions by 10% in 12 months is achievable through integrated energy efficiency and carbon management policies.
It is important to note that reductions in energy consumption and carbon emissions continue year on year so the aggregated lifetime savings can be really significant.
It is therefore vital that both central government and the wider public sector include environmental considerations in procurement strategies, building planning and the use of renewable technologies such as solar panels for heating and water heating and PV and wind for local electricity generation.
To summarise, the recent announcement by David Cameron that the government aims to cut carbon emissions in central government by 10% in 12 months signalled a firm commitment to fundamentally change how energy is supplied and used in Britain.
This commitment is challenging but achievable and will bring significant benefits financially, environmentally and socially to government, the public sector and the public at large.
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