I know where you could start

You remember the headline just before Christmas? “Government buildings emit more CO2 than all of Kenya”. The Guardian front page revealed the energy performance of 18,000 public buildings and berated the government for failing to get its house, or at least its offices, in order.

There were some obvious rebuttals that could have been made. Kenya’s not exactly notable for intensive energy use. Government offices tend to operate for long hours and have high security requirements. And a quick check on the energy performance of the Guardian’s sparkling new premises in King’s Cross is also revealing. But the essential point stands: how can the government tell us what to do when its own estate scores so badly?

This week, Cabe launched a report setting out the hallmarks of a sustainable city. This was the result of two years’ research in eight cities across the country, and it seeks to define how you create well-designed, low-carbon places. The report also calls on the government to make carbon reductions by local authorities mandatory.

Central and local government are significant property owners and managers. They need to show real leadership on resource efficiency and asset management. But the Palace of Westminster currently pumps out 11,983 tonnes of CO2 each year, and that’s not much of a platform from which to urge your constituents to insulate their homes.

Right now there’s precious little evidence of anyone really gripping the problem. Walking round Whitehall you see plenty of recycling bins, and display energy certificates (DECs) sheepishly gleaming in the foyers of individual departments. But money is tight and people are busy. I wonder if carbon is really just the next “diversity”. An imperative that few people would argue with but that even fewer put top of their list.

The Local Government Association’s Climate Change Commission last year made a smart observation: it said success in tackling sustainability has so far come from “wilful individuals” leading action from relatively junior positions. It’s a story most of us recognise, and one that belongs in the past.

The palace of Westminster pumps out 11,983 tonnes of CO2 each year. That’s not much of a platform from which to urge your constituents to insulate their homes

So we need action and leadership fast. We also need a detailed energy survey of the whole building stock across Whitehall and senior officials in each department accountable improving building performance.

We also need targets for upgrading the DEC ratings. Surely all F and G-rated buildings should be made D or E-rated within three years? And short-term actions need to sit within a long-term commitment to see all government buildings become C-rated or better by 2015.

We then need a focus on the demand side, as well as the supply and management of buildings. Why not have a campaign to install sub-meters on heating, cooling and electricity systems in every Whitehall department?

Start by incentivising teams to improve efficiency with performance-related bonuses. Bring it alive for a couple of weeks with fluctuations in prices at the canteen for staff depending on the consumption of energy.

And introduce a degree of competition between departments, buildings and even floors within buildings. Above all, publish the data: the more people know, the greater the chance that they will take responsibility for their actions.

As in life, there is rarely a magic bullet. But if you thought we were obsessed with climate change in 2008, you’ve seen nothing yet. For a period of 17 weeks this year, from World Environment Day to the opening of the UN conference in Copenhagen, every business and public agency will operate in the full glare of a public debate about sustainability. It will quickly reveal who’s acting and who’s just talking. Government should start at the top and make Whitehall the greenest estate in Britain.