“The Government is committed to delivering sustainable development and becoming the greenest government ever… We want to mainstream sustainability, strengthen the government’s performance in this area and put processes in place to join-up activity across government much more effectively.”

Rt. Hon. Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Defra

GovToday presents 'Greening Government 2011: Mainstreaming Sustainable Development' Conference and Exhibition, which will be held on the 12th October 2011, at The Brewery Conference Centre, the City of London.

As part of our successful ‘Securing the Future’ series of events, this is our Third Annual National Conference examining progress within the Public Sector and by Central Government in particular, relating to performance in achieving Sustainable Development, which incorporates attaining both our national and international carbon reduction targets of a 34 per cent reduction in emissions by 2020, and 80 per cent by 2050.

On 28th February 2011, the Government announced the publication of ‘Mainstreaming Sustainable Development - The Government’s vision and what this means in practice’. This Document unveiled the Government’s ambitious plans to build a stronger greener government, embedding sustainability at the heart of government as a core strategic priority of Government, rather than considered as an independent, separate issue.

“Moving to a long-term, green and sustainable economy is essential if we are to rebuild our finances, improve our quality of life and protect our natural environment. Genuine sustainability … will be at the heart of everything we do - from making policy to running government buildings or purchasing goods and services.”Rt. Hon. Caroline Spelman, Secretary of State for Defra.

Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg, affirmed that “as we reduce the deficit, we also rebalance the economy and put it on a greener, more sustainable footing…this document sets out how we can do that.”

‘Mainstreaming Sustainable Development’ outlines the Government’s “refreshed vision and our commitments” building on the principles as set out in the UK’s 2005 Sustainable Development Strategy, which rest on the importance of embedding sustainability and the interconnectivity across the so-called three pillars of the economy, society and the environment.

The Government aims to lead this agenda by example, with the reform of Government’s operations and procurement through a “step change in leadership, efficiency, transparency and accountability”.

The new Greening Government Commitments will replace the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets for 2011/12, and aim to reduce environmental impact by 2015, with a series of new measures to:

• Reduce greenhouse gas emissions from a 09/10 baseline from the whole estate and business related transport:
  • 10% cut in carbon emissions from Central Government offices in 2010/11, and publication of online real time energy use information
  • Reduce domestic business travel flights by 20% by 2015 from 09/10 baseline
• Reduce waste generated by 25% from a 09/10 baseline:
  • 10% cut in paper use in 2011/12
  • Informed by a feasibility study to be published in 2011, Government will go to market with a requirement for ‘closed loop’ recycled paper
  • Redundant ICT equipment must be re-used or recycled.
• Reduce water consumption from a 09/10 baseline, with reports on water use against best practice;
• Ensure procurement of sustainable and efficient products whilst reducing the impact of the supply chain:
  • Embed efficient procurement practices
  • Improve and publish data on supply chain impact

The Defra publications ‘An Action Plan for driving Sustainable operations and procurement across government’ , and the ‘Greenhouse Gas Footprint Analysis of UK Central Government 1990-2008’both published in November 2010, and the Environmental Audit Committee Report ‘Embedding Sustainable Development across Government’ in January 2011, argued the case for the Government to lead by example and embed Sustainable Development in government policy, operations and performance. This latest Document aims to put this policy into practice:

With the carbon footprint of Central 'Government' still "consistently representing" around 6 to 7 per cent of the UK’s total emissions, Greening Government 2011: Mainstreaming Sustainable Development will examine the future priorities, and explain how policy will translate into action, transforming Government operations and performance, embedding Sustainability strategically across UK Government policy and ultimately build our Green Economy of the future.