Longer computer life sustains move to greener government

More effective use of computer equipment could save the government millions of pounds and be environmentally positive, says a new report.

Increasing the lifespan of staff computers from three to five years is already saving the Department of Work and Pensions £35m, says the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) and would make a huge contribution towards the government desire to be 'greener'.

'Adopting similar approaches to demand management across government could multiply the savings many times,' states the report.

'Becoming the Greenest Government Ever: achieving sustainability in operations and procurement' shows that moves towards greater sustainability made by the previous administration already save government £60-70m every year.

The SDC is calling for the coalition government to step up its green ambitions in order to benefit from further efficiency savings.

It finds that the savings made to date are only the tip of the iceberg, and concludes that by extending its commitment to become the 'Greenest Government ever' - beyond carbon to a wider range of sustainability issues including water and waste - would enable the new government to save hundreds of millions more over the course of this parliament.

Analysis of progress made under the previous government suggests that, despite the slow pace of change, improvements in energy and water consumption, waste, recycling and road transport performance are likely to add up to £300-350m over the next five years, even if no further progress is made. This includes:

* £13.7m fuel savings from reduced road travel in 2008-09 alone. This also saved the equivalent of 1.7 million hours of staff time - over 1,000 full time staff working a full year - without counting the savings from reduced car purchases, repairs and administration.

* Savings of 18 million cubic metres of water - the equivalent of 7,200 Olympic swimming pools, adding up to £13m worth of water bills in 2008-09.

* Landfill cost savings from reducing waste by 126,000 tonnes in 2009-08 - the equivalent of the total waste produced by over 250,000 UK individuals.

The report estimates that, if the new government succeeds in meeting its commitment to cut carbon emissions from government offices by 10% over 12 months, this will result in benefits to society equivalent to £13m, in addition to any reduction in energy bills.

Sustainable Development Commission chair, Will Day, said, "The coalition government's commitment to become the greenest government ever is a vitally important move if the decisions we make now are to hold good in the long term. Beyond the general environmental, social and economic benefits of greening government, there is an immediate financial imperative to do so.

"Sustainable development is no peripheral, nice-to-have concept for prosperous times. It is the best way of delivering more for less, while ensuring that the drive for efficiencies doesn't cost more in the long run.

'Becoming the Greenest Government Ever: achieving sustainability in operations and procurement' http://www.sd-commission.org.uk/publications.php?id=1097