Twenty-Third Report - Measuring and reporting public sector greenhouse gas emissions

Select Committee

Public Accounts Committee HC 39 2 November 2022

Report Status Response document linked Recorded deadline: 2 Jan 2023

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Conclusions & Recommendations 18 items (11 recs)

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Government response

Treasury minutes: Government response to the Committee of Public Accounts on the Twenty third report from Session 2022-23 · published 24 Feb 2023

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Recommendations & Conclusions

18 results

2 Recommendation

The public sector as a whole lacks clear standards for measuring and reporting emissions.

Recommendation

The public sector as a whole lacks clear standards for measuring and reporting emissions. BEIS has set expectations that all public sector bodies should consistently measure and report their emissions, but BEIS, HM Treasury and Defra have so far only … Read more

HM Treasury

3 Recommendation

Leadership and oversight of emissions measurement and reporting in central government is fragmented and ineffective.

Recommendation

Leadership and oversight of emissions measurement and reporting in central government is fragmented and ineffective. At present, there are at least three departments issuing guidance to central government bodies on how to measure and report emissions. However, the guidance is … Read more

HM Treasury

4 Recommendation

We are not convinced that departments are making effective use of the emissions data to...

Recommendation

We are not convinced that departments are making effective use of the emissions data to drive decision-making. Central government and other public sector bodies need to use emissions data to decide priorities and assess the affordability of plans. While the … Read more

HM Treasury

5 Recommendation

The public sector risks falling behind on the reporting of its emissions but could learn...

Recommendation

The public sector risks falling behind on the reporting of its emissions but could learn from developing practice in private sector and the devolved administrations. While the UK government has committed to leading by example in efforts to decarbonise, other … Read more The public sector risks falling behind on the reporting of its emissions but could learn from developing practice in private sector and the devolved administrations. While the UK government has committed to leading by example in efforts to decarbonise, other sectors and the devolved administrations are already doing more to promote fuller reporting of emissions. Parts of the private sector are seeking to measure and report on the indirect emissions attributable to their operations, known as scope 3 emissions, for example arising from goods and services purchased from external suppliers. The centre of government has not mandated public sector bodies in England to report their scope 3 emissions which can, in some cases, be large. Some central government bodies have taken the initiative to report their scope 3 emissions on a voluntary basis and the NHS has taken steps to promote the reporting of scope 3 emissions, but elsewhere in the public sector reporting is patchy. This means that much of the data currently published does not capture the full carbon impact of the public sector’s activities. By contrast, firms bidding for government contracts worth more than £5 million already have to report scope 3 emissions more fully and it is expected that all large private sector firms will be Measuring and reporting public sector greenhouse gas emissions 7 required to give greater consideration to scope 3 emissions from 2025. The devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland have taken steps to increase the scope of public sector emissions reporting to include more scope 3 emissions. Recommendation: BEIS and HM Treasury should ensure that the reporting requirements placed on the public sector are aligned with their objective to lead by example in delivering net zero. This should include consideration of which bodies should report their scope 3 emissions and how best this should be done. 8 Measuring and reporting public sector greenhouse gas emissions 1 Measuring and reporting Show less

HM Treasury

1 Conclusion

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence...

Conclusion

On the basis of a report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, we took evidence from the Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy (BEIS), the Department for Environment. Food & Rural Affairs (Defra) and HM Treasury on how the … Read more

HM Treasury

6 Conclusion

In addition to the BEIS dataset that covers the entire public sector, Defra publishes an...

Conclusion

In addition to the BEIS dataset that covers the entire public sector, Defra publishes an annual progress report for the Greening Government Commitments (GGCs). Alongside the government’s other environmental measures, this shows the progress made by central government departments and … Read more

HM Treasury

7 Conclusion

BEIS has not spelt out the assumptions underpinning its ambitions to decarbonise the public sector,...

Conclusion

BEIS has not spelt out the assumptions underpinning its ambitions to decarbonise the public sector, in particular the extent to which it is relying on technological innovation to meet its long-term targets. BEIS told us that it expects electric heat … Read more

HM Treasury

8 Conclusion

At present, only central government departments and their arm’s-length bodies are required to measure and...

Conclusion

At present, only central government departments and their arm’s-length bodies are required to measure and report their emissions in accordance with HM Treasury’s Sustainability Reporting Guidance, which leaves huge areas of the public sector, including 5 C&AG’s Report, para 1.2 … Read more

HM Treasury

9 Recommendation

The current reporting requirements for central government focus on scope 1 and scope 2 emissions;...

Recommendation

The current reporting requirements for central government focus on scope 1 and scope 2 emissions; for example the gas used in boilers and electricity used across the government estate.19 The only scope 3 emissions that are captured by current mandatory … Read more

HM Treasury

10 Recommendation

By contrast, there are already greater requirements placed on some private sector firms to measure...

Recommendation

By contrast, there are already greater requirements placed on some private sector firms to measure and report their scope 3 emissions. Firms bidding, for example, for government contracts worth over £5 million are required to report five categories of scope … Read more

HM Treasury

11 Recommendation

Elsewhere in the public sector we have heard that some bodies are going further to...

Recommendation

Elsewhere in the public sector we have heard that some bodies are going further to report scope 3 emissions and therefore are providing a fuller picture of their carbon footprint. BEIS told us that for some time the NHS has … Read more

HM Treasury

12 Conclusion

At present, BEIS, Defra and HM Treasury play important roles in setting expectations for public...

Conclusion

At present, BEIS, Defra and HM Treasury play important roles in setting expectations for public sector emissions reporting, with a number of other bodies, such as the Department for Transport and Office for Government Property also playing more minor roles … Read more

HM Treasury

13 Recommendation

Central government bodies are required to report their emissions in two ways: through the GGCs...

Recommendation

Central government bodies are required to report their emissions in two ways: through the GGCs following guidance set by Defra; and in their annual reports following the Sustainability Reporting Guidance set by HM Treasury.32 These two sets of guidance are … Read more

HM Treasury

14 Recommendation

In addition to these inconsistencies, we note that the reporting guidance is not currently easy...

Recommendation

In addition to these inconsistencies, we note that the reporting guidance is not currently easy to use. For example, the NAO found that HM Treasury’s Sustainability Reporting Guidance was vaguely worded and did not make it clear which reporting elements … Read more

HM Treasury

15 Recommendation

We are concerned that there is a lack of active leadership in this area, which...

Recommendation

We are concerned that there is a lack of active leadership in this area, which is leading to non-compliance with guidance and undermining efforts to produce complete, robust emissions data. Defra, which has overall responsibility for administering the GGCs, does … Read more

HM Treasury

16 Recommendation

Robust data can be used to prioritise action and assess whether policies are affordable, but...

Recommendation

Robust data can be used to prioritise action and assess whether policies are affordable, but we are not convinced that departments are making sufficient effective use of the emissions data that they are already collecting and reporting. We asked BEIS, … Read more

HM Treasury

17 Conclusion

The main source of funding currently available to help public sector bodies implement decarbonisation measures...

Conclusion

The main source of funding currently available to help public sector bodies implement decarbonisation measures is the Public Sector Decarbonisation Fund, which will be distributing £1.425 billion of grant funding across the sector for the current spending review period.41 We … Read more

HM Treasury

18 Conclusion

Given that the public sector faces a significant challenge in decarbonising at the rates required,...

Conclusion

Given that the public sector faces a significant challenge in decarbonising at the rates required, the centre of government could be doing more to share examples of good practice. We are encouraged that BEIS intend to use the local net … Read more

HM Treasury