GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENTS TO MISS GREEN TARGETS

Emily Beament, PA Environment Correspondent

The Government is set to miss targets to reduce carbon emissions from its own departments' offices and transport, a report warned today.

The Sustainable Development Commission (SDC)said despite leading the way on climate change on the global stage, the Government needed to take ``radical action to put its own house in order'' in a number of areas.

The sixth annual assessment of Government performance against a series of sustainability targets showed two thirds of departments were not on track to meet the goal of reducing CO2 emissions by 12.5% by 2010.

And emissions from departmental road travel increased last year by 1.5%, showing ``no progress'' towards the 15% reduction by 2010/2011 set by the Government.

Water consumption was another area of concern, with just a 0.1% reduction in use, not enough to meet the 25% target by 2020, the SDC said.

But recycling targets look set to be met and 28.3% of electricity was from renewables, well above the 10% target set for 2010, the report showed.

More than four fifths of Sites of Special Scientific Interest were in target condition, on track to meet the 95% goal by 2010.

But only 46 out of 351 new or refurbished buildings belonging to the estate were assessed on environmental standards and just 28 met them.

The Government's huge purchasing potential was being put to good use in some areas, with the majority of departments sourcing all or most of their timber from sustainable sources.

But just 3.1% of catering contracts are covered by a sustainability clause, the report into the Sustainable Operations of the Government targets said.

And despite being mandatory, a scheme introduced to ensure procurement was sustainable was only being used by half the departments.

The report said while there were ``encouraging signs that the Government is preparing to up its game with regard to the performance of its estate,'' it urgently needed to raise its game.

Rebecca Willis, vice chairwoman of the SDC, said: ``The UK Government is making history by introducing the world's first Climate Change Bill, giving Britain the opportunity to lead the way on one of the most pressing issues facing the world.

``But Government as a whole needs to take radical action to put its own house in order if it is to be in a position to lead by example.

``Failure is not an option. These targets must be the first step in a journey towards much greater sustainability; yet progress to date has been far too slow.''

She welcomed the Government's promise of a comprehensive Delivery Plan designed to ensure the commitments were met.

But the SDC also complained a lack of data provided by departments made it hard to get a clear picture of progress.

The study revealed that carbon emissions had fallen from departmental offices by 4% compared to 1999/2000, but much of this was due to the Ministry of Defence privatising parts of its estate.

Excluding the controversial privatising of QinetiQ by the department, total emissions fell by just 0.7%.

The MoD produces almost three quarters of Government department emissions. Other departments saw a 22% rise in CO2, the study found.

Energy efficiency per square metre improved by more than a fifth compared to the turn of the century, but excluding the MoD, the rest of the Government estate worsened slightly.

Compared with big businesses, the Government's energy use was higher than the private sector but emissions from road transport were lower.

``At a time when prominent businesses, such as Marks & Spencer, are making strategic efforts to achieve challenging environmental goals, Government's own record looks particularly weak,'' the report warned.

The commission made a number of recommendations to make sure the targets are met, including for departments to agree on a Government-wide travel policy to encourage sustainable transport use and avoiding travel through ``smart working''.

Air travel targets should also be developed to encourage use of alternative, greener modes of transport, the SDC said.

While it was far from the worst performing Government department, Defra saw a 32.1% increase in energy use per square metre on 1999/2000 levels and water use increased by 6% on 2004/2005 figures.

But the Environment Department has managed to cut its emissions by 8.5% and source 43.5% of its electricity from renewable sources and 10.8% from combined heat and power.

Overall across the departments, the failure to make more use of combined heat and power, which uses fuel more efficiently than conventional methods, was flagged as a concern by the report.

The worst performer on carbon emissions and energy efficiency was the Forestry Commission which saw CO2 spiral by 152.9% from 2002/2003 levels and energy use by 67.5%.

Responding to the report, the Government said it was setting up a new centre of expertise to help Whitehall departments cut their carbon.

A green IT programme will be launched in the summer and from April all departmental heads will have specific objectives to meet the targets.

From 2010 all central Governments will be included in an emissions trading scheme to make them reduce energy use and from the summer almost all vehicles used by ministers and permanent secretaries will have emissions of less than 120g/km.

Cabinet Secretary Sir Gus O'Donnell said there was still a long way to go on sustainability, but the new centre of expertise would help departments work to deliver green working practices for the future.