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Greening Government ICT

The UK Government runs some of the world’s most extensive computer systems, which enable delivery of essential public services.  We have a duty to minimise the impact of these systems on the environment
As one of the most significant users of ICT in the UK, Government has taken a lead in producing and delivering a set of specific steps to drive down the carbon footprint generated by the use of our computers and other ICT equipment.

Aims

• The energy consumption of Government ICT on the office estate will be carbon neutral by 2012, in line with the existing Sustainability On the Government Estate (SOGE) targets and SOGE definition for carbon neutrality.
• Government ICT will be carbon neutral across its lifecycle by 2020.

The Greening Government ICT strategy also set a clear list of actions for HMG Chief Information Officers (CIOs) and Chief Technology Officers (CTOs) to deliver these targets.

Key Achievements

In July 2008, we launched the “Greening Government ICT: Efficient, Sustainable, Responsible” strategy, becoming one of the first Governments in the world to announce plans to reduce the carbon footprint of our ICT. 

In September 2009 we published a “One Year On” report highlighting progress made by organisations. 110 Action plans were submitted from central and local government, the wider public sector and the Devolved Administrations.

Carbon emissions have been reduced by over 12,000 tonnes. At the same time, the focus on greener ICT has also led to cash savings of over £6.8m.

In addition to individual departmental delivery, there have been a number of initiatives designed to share best practice across the public sector:

• Government contract terms and conditions now include sustainability requirements (OGC model contract).
• A supplier scoring model has been developed and is now being made available to the public sector to assess supply chain sustainability during procurements.
• The Government is working internationally on areas such as the Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directive sub-group and USA Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool (EPEAT) product specifications.

Benefits of Greening ICT

Sustainable ICT will have a significant impact on delivery of the savings outlined in the Operational Efficiency Programme. Green ICT products use less energy and therefore cost less to run, while intelligent use of green ICT can enable flexible working practices, thus supporting Human Resources and Estates colleagues to reduce their running costs. Finally, common international standards for products can reduce manufacturing costs and environmental impact.

What’s next?

The Greening Government ICT Strategy will be refreshed in 2010 to reflect environmental and technology advances and will detail key activities for the Green ICT Delivery Unit through to 2020, including:

• the development of common measures of delivery.
• work to be undertaken internationally to agree common product standards and requirements.
• the development of mandatory minimum green standards for ICT products and services.

• Greening Government ICT (ICT Strategy) [PDF]
• Greening Government ICT (The Strategy) [PDF, 115KB]
• One year on: A progress report on the Government's Greening Government ICT [PDF, 891KB]
• CIO Green iCT Roadmap Template 2009 [Excel]
• Areas for Potential Carbon Reduction [PDF, 84KB]
• Green ICT SOGE Map [PDF, 110KB]
• Sustainable Procurement Charter [PDF, 83KB]

Third Party produced documents:

• The Sustainable IT Transformation Roadmap [PDF, 2.2MB]
• SEB Foundation Certificate in Green IT [PDF, 74KB]

Contact
For further information email green.ict@cabinet-office.x.gsi.gov.uk