Title

The public can monitor how much energy is guzzled by central government departments each day, following the publication of real-time data on Whitehall's carbon dioxode emissions. Ministers at the Department for Energy and Climate Change, in partnership with the Cabinet Office, have co-ordinated the publication online of real-time energy consumption charts across 18 Whitehall-based departments. The scheme forms part of the Government's plan to slash Whitehall's energy use by 10% by next year. The idea is that members of the public, and Whitehall staff, can monitor central government's energy use each day – and note when and where unnecessarily-high energy consumption levels are taking place. Under the scheme, visitors to the Government's data.gov.uk website can convert traditional measurements of departmental energy use – such as kilowatts of electricity – into more useful international environmental benchmarks, such as daily carbon production. Staff at the CLG, one of Whitehall's smaller departments, created the equivalent of 9.2 tonnes of CO2 on 4 August, for example. The new system had one unexpected spin-off, too – revealing that some departments' energy use remained high, even after traditional working hours. One senior source at the Treasury told The MJ: ‘I hear our department's energy consumption charts expose the number of civil servants who were burning the midnight oil in the run-up to the emergency Budget in June.' The transparent consumption system has been rolled out across Whitehall just three months after prime minister, David Cameron, set central government's 10% reduction target. Energy minister, Greg Barker, who chairs a government working group on energy consumption, said: ‘For too long, Whitehall has been guilty of preaching and not acting on efficiency. ‘Slashing energy waste in government needs to happen fast, as much for tackling the public finances as for climate change. And shining a spotlight on what's being used in real-time will help staff change their behaviour and the public hold us to account. ‘We said we'd be the greenest government ever and we mean it.' Cabinet Office minister Francis Maude urged the public to ‘hold our feet to the fire' and be vocal when Whitehall's energy consumption appeared too high. The entire public sector spent £2.6bn on energy in 2008/09 and ministers want the sector to slash bills through less energy use and lower payments to suppliers.

Title

WHITEHALL

Public get online access to departments' energy use

SUBSCRIBE TO CONTINUE READING