Do as we do, not just as we say. The mantra that government must lead by example when it comes to mitigating climate change – by continually improving its own sustainability record – became a driver of practical measures under the coalition government back in 2010.
A series of targets were set out, known as the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs), requiring 22 government departments and their arm’s length bodies to reduce environmental impacts from water consumption, landfill waste and business flights. The measures also required an increase in carbon-cutting measures across the civil estate, from offices to warehouses and prisons.
With more than 500,000 staff across the UK, the civil service produces almost 2m tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year: a carbon footprint similar to that of Sheffield. In the wider public sector, NHS emissions alone make up 4% of England’s total carbon footprint. Trimming the carbon fat from these operations is not just politically symbolic; it is also impactful.
Defra has responsibility for the GGC framework, which includes overall and departmental targets. Current progress, though, is uncertain. Reporting – due for each financial year – is now three years in arrears. The most recent GGC data, for 2020-21, was published in spring 2023. Despite a demand that the 2021-22 data – let alone the 2022-23 and 2023-24 figures – be published early this year, there is no sign of them. Defra is unable to give even the vaguest commitment as to when we might learn how the civil service is doing.
Last year, the government was excoriated for its tardiness by the then-chair of the Environmental Audit Committee, Philip Dunne, who said his committee had lost patience over the issue, that Covid-19 was no longer an excuse for feet-dragging and that he expected to see the 2021-22 figures published “well before April 2024”.
A spokesperson for Defra responded: “April 2024 was not a date we committed to. The publication of 2021-22 data was delayed by the pre-election period and a new government being elected.” Asked if a rough timeframe could be given for when any data would be published, and whether the 2024 general election was an acceptable reason for the delay (since the election was not called until two months after the April deadline had passed), the spokesperson said only: “The data will be published in due course.”
Defra has issued quarterly updates on its own progress towards sustainability commitments. Its latest update, published in April 2024 (covering October – December 2021) was limited in scope but showed it had moved forward with plans for installation of wind-turbines, solar water heaters and ground source heat pumps into several of its sites, and was “committing to low carbon technology replacements when required”.
The actual numbers in the report raised questions over how meaningful these steps had been, however. Defra fell short of its direct emissions reduction target of 15% (against a 2017-18 baseline), cutting it only by 13%. Efforts to cut overall emissions (including transport and grid emissions) fell even shorter, amounting to a 27% cut against the target of a 50% reduction in emissions.
The National Audit Office continues to shine a light on various departments and how they implement GGCs. In its June 2023 report, Department for Education: sustainability overview, the NAO identified education as the public sector’s largest emitter of carbon from buildings, amounting to 37% of public sector emissions. This comprises 13% from state primary schools, 11% from state secondary schools and 13% from universities. The NAO found that DfE had set up internal structures and processes to enable it “to manage, monitor and deliver a range of initiatives” but that the department was “still developing governance and accountability measures, and raising awareness of its aims both within DfE and the sector more generally”.
“Covid was an issue but there is no excuse for not publishing every year”
Phillip Dunne, former Environmental Audit Committee chair
More detail emerged on GGCs in the State of the Estate report for 2022-23, which was published via the Cabinet Office in December 2023. By the end of 2022-23 the government’s overall greenhouse gas emissions had reduced by 38% against the 2017-18 baseline – an improvement on the 35% reduction achieved in 2021-22. Direct emissions from government buildings were reduced by 12% against the 2017-18 baseline, an improvement on the 9% reduction achieved in 2021-22, despite more departmental staff returning to their place of work following the Covid-19 pandemic. Reductions in overall energy consumption saved the government an estimated £163m when compared with the 2017-18 baseline.
Overall, government reduced total waste by 16% from the 2017-18 baseline, the report found, exceeding the 15% target. On an individual basis, the 15% target was met or exceeded by 15 out of the 20 departments that reported. In total, 5% of departmental waste was sent to landfill which met the 5% maximum target. Yet only 51% of government waste was recycled, falling short of the 70% target.
The government’s water consumption reduced by 5% in 2022-23 compared to the baseline, missing the 8% reduction target that was previously met in 2021-22 (where water consumption reduced by 9%). However, 16 out of 20 departments reported they had met or exceeded the target to reduce water consumption by 8% compared to the baseline. Reductions in water consumption saved the government an estimated £3m.
Departments are now working towards new goals outlined in the 2021-2025 GGC Framework (published in December 2022), which recalibrated the baseline to 2017-18 and set out the overarching aim of “mitigating climate change and working towards net zero by 2050”. Emissions reduction targets for 2024-25 in relation to the 2017-18 baseline include DfT (62%), DHSC (44%), HMT (69%), HMRC (60%) and MoD (30%).
Dunne assumes civil servants will already have briefed ministers about the GGC reporting requirements. Speaking to CSW, he said: “Covid was an issue, and some departments have large carbon footprints because they are based in historic buildings – but there is no excuse for not publishing GGCs every year,” he says. “The GGCs matter. The new administration has set very high expectations for how they are going to treat the environment. Governments like to legislate for other elements of society to change behaviour, but when they do, it’s always more credible if they apply that to their own aspects of environmental policy.”
During his time chairing the EAC, Dunne recalls how reviews of GGC progress at the MoD, DfE and DHSC, undertaken with the NAO, found “varying degrees of compliance and capacity to comply” but that the audits “sharpened pencils”, and departments “found it useful to have an external force encouraging them to comply. The pace at which compliance can happen is often dictated by funding priorities, so all eyes will be on the budget to see the extent to which the in-house greening agenda is supported”.