A virtuous circle

The public bodies doing best at reducing energy consumption aim to recycle each penny saved
Jane Dudman
The Guardian, Wednesday 9 September 2009
In the intensifying search for public sector efficiency, it makes sense to focus on energy savings. In the prison service, to take just one example, money saved on energy can be spent on other services, such as investing in equipment.
Tom Brockbanks, head of the energy management team for HM Prison Service and the National Offender Management Service, says the prison service spends £44.8m a year on energy – and he and his colleagues have pledged to save almost £10m on that bill by 2015, cutting back on 88,373 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
"The prison service was looking to save energy," Brockbanks says. "We have had to look at costs, like every other public organisation."
After studying the options, Brockbanks and his team have focused on practical changes, such as installing automated meters, to measure exactly how much energy the prison service is using, and on a big awareness-raising campaign across the service.
"It's about how to use energy wisely and properly," he says, adding that the campaign, although mainly focused on encouraging staff to use energy more carefully, could well be extended to offenders themselves. "They may not be interested in saving money, but a lot of offenders are interested in the planet and its future."
The prison service is one of 436 public sector organisations, including universities, NHS trusts and local authorities, whose carbon reduction managers gathered in London yesterday to celebrate the achievements of the public sector in reducing energy use. Richard Rugg, head of public sector at the Carbon Trust, which was set up in 2001 by the government to help reduce carbon emissions, says public sector bodies have dramatically increased their targets over the last few years.
In the first year of the programme, 2003-04, public sector organisations on the trust's carbon management programme pledged to reduce their carbon emissions over five years by an average of 12%. By last year, the average target had gone up to a five-year reduction of 25%. Rugg says: "That's a real rise in appetite, and you don't hit those sort of targets easily just by better housekeeping."
Some organisations have gone further, and the Carbon Trust has identified a number of "star performers". Cranfield University, for instance, has a commitment to halve its carbon emissions over five years, while the London borough of Kensington and Chelsea says it will cut emissions by 40% over five years, and Coventry city council is aiming to cut its carbon use by almost a third. And the Carbon Trust estimates that projects implemented as a result of its public sector management programme are already saving more than 500,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, and producing annual savings of £36m on energy bills.
"This is much, much more than just setting targets," Rugg says. "Public bodies are putting a lot of thought and energy into how to meet those targets, and that needs corporate and political buy-in. It's important to ensure that the right people have carbon reduction written into their job descriptions."
Changing behaviour
Actions taken by public sector bodies also make a difference in the wider community, points out Keith Griffiths, director of finance at the Wrightington, Wigan & Leigh NHS trust, another top performer. "The impact goes well beyond the four walls of our organisation," he says. It includes aiming to buy from more local suppliers and changing the behaviour of staff, not just at work but also at home.
But the main aim of these public sector performers is clear: every penny counts.
A letter put out last week by 10 NHS organisations urging other health providers to sign up to the Guardian-backed 10:10 campaign to cut carbon dioxide emissions by at least 10% during 2010, states: "Given the financial forecast for the NHS, cutting our spending on energy is one way to increase productivity and efficiency".
Or as Griffiths says: "The more we can save on these sort of resources, the more we can plough back into patient care."
Jane Dudman is editor of Public, the Guardian's website for senior public managers. More on the Carbon Trust's top public sector performers, at guardianpublic.co.uk
See the Global Cleantech 100 supplement, sponsored by the Carbon Trust, published today with Society Guardian.