Watchdog: public sector must step up efforts to cut emissions

The public sector is in serious danger of missing its target to cut carbon emissions across its operations by 12.5 per cent by 2012, according to a highly critical new report from the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) to be released today.

The report calculates that the public sector has cut emissions from its offices by 6.3 per cent since 2000, and while it praises progress in some areas it also warns that the current rate of emission cuts are not fast enough to meet the 2012 target.

Rebecca Willis, vice chair of the SDC, said that the government needed to act urgently to accelerate efforts to cut carbon emissions across its operations.

"The government has taken some really significant steps... But it is still not on track to meet crucial targets, including reducing carbon emissions from offices," she said. "Worryingly, the current targets themselves don't match the scale of the challenge we face, particularly on climate change."

In a further blow to the government, the report revealed that data from government offices for 2007/08 shows that they are using less renewable electricity and sending less waste for recycling than they were the previous year.

It also criticised public sector efforts to track its carbon footprint, noting that while significant cuts in transport emissions have been realised, there are still largely no systems in place to measure the carbon impact of procurement policies or the water footprint of public sector offices.

Willis urged the government to retain its ambition in setting new reduction targets for the post-2012 period, despite its difficulties in meeting the current goals.

"The stakes can only get higher," she said. "As the government sets out to review its targets for the next few years, it would be smart to set them high – for the efficiency of its own operations, for a future low-carbon economy, and for the UK and the planet as a whole."

William Jordan, central government's chief sustainability officer, welcomed the report, adding that the government would revise its targets later this year "to ensure that these reflect leading practice on sustainability".

The report comes in the same week as a separate study from the National Audit Office warned that the government would also miss Whitehall targets for sustainable procurement.