Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) Assessment 2009
Every year, the SDC assesses the Government�s progress against its own sustainability targets. The latest data, published on 18 December 2009, shows that overall, Government has improved in a number of important areas for the primary operational targets, and has maintained its four out of five star rating. This includes exceeding the target for carbon emissions reductions from administrative road vehicles, and almost being on track to meet the carbon emissions reduction target from offices.
 | "It�s great to see the progress that has been made in the last twelve months, thanks to considerable efforts from Government � we have seen improvements from road transport, water, waste and recycling targets. The next task for Government is to get to grips with its supply chain, and to look at the performance of all Government agencies, including its non-departmental public bodies." |
While departmental performance remains mixed, 2008/09 is the first time that the �Big Four� departments (MoD, MoJ, DWP and HMRC which together represent 80% of Government in terms of size) have all achieved four out of a possible five stars for the primary SOGE targets.
Specifically:
- Government is "on track" or better in all the major operational target areas except carbon emissions from offices and Combined Heat and Power (CHP).
- Government has made some significant progress on carbon from offices over this period and is now almost on track. If Government continues with the rate of progress achieved in 2008/09, it should be on track to meet this target. However, Government has shown no progress since the previous reporting period on CHP and needs to refocus its efforts to get on track.
Government has also made some significant progress on meeting its sustainable procurement commitments, improving its two star rating in 2007/08 to a four star rating in 2008/09. At the same time, Government has made only slight progress on the use of the Mandated Mechanisms, maintaining its two star rating in 2008/09.
This is the eighth annual assessment of central Government�s performance on operations and procurement against the targets and commitments of the SOGE Framework. The assessment is based on data provided by departments to the Centre of Expertise in Sustainable Procurement (CESP) in the Office of Government Commerce (OGC).
The SDC�s commentary aims to inform and inspire continuous improvements across Government. Although CESP collected and analysed the data from all departments this year, the SDC�s traffic light rating methodology was applied to the data to assess progress. Commentary from the SDC and CESP is located on our respective websites, with the OGC�s website also containing the complete data set, trajectories including forecast traffic light ratings and feedback from departments.