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Leading by example? Not exactly…

Date:16/12/2005
Classification:None
Document type:SDC Reports & Papers
Download:Leading_by_example.pdf - 350 KB
Summary:imageSDC commentary on the Sustainable Development in Government Report 2005.

With overall responsibility for more than £100 billion, the UK Government is required to meet sustainability targets to ensure its resources are managed responsibly and our money is spent wisely.

The first SDC assessment of the Government's operations, Leading By Example? indicates how well Government is performing against its targets.

The report finds that:

  • In the same year that the Government claimed to take a global lead on climate change, total CO2 emissions from Government Departments have actually increased, and only one Department has processes in place to assess the risks that climate change and variable weather will bring to planned developments.

  • Despite the Government’s mantra to business - ‘measure it to manage it’ – most Departments failed to provide proper data on the amount of waste they produced (making it impossible to evaluate whether they met recycling and composting targets), and the total amount of fuel they consumed.

  • Most Departments failed to meet the water-saving target for their offices, resulting in serious water wastage and unnecessary costs. The worst-performer, the Cabinet Office, was way off the water-saving target – using the equivalent of 72 kettles of water per person, per day, in offices alone.

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