Government buildings 'have large carbon footprint'

07 Jan 2009

An energy efficiency audit has revealed that public buildings in England and Wales - including ministerial offices and police stations - are pumping out 11 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year, it has been reported.

The survey of 18,000 buildings found that Ed Miliband's - the energy and climate change secretary - department head office in Whitehall Place releases 1,336 tonnes of CO2 a year, the Guardian notes.

Furthermore, the Bank of England and the Houses of Parliament together used enough gas and electricity to contribute 21,356 tonnes of CO2 a year, which the newspaper claims is equal to 14,000 people flying from London to New York.

Commenting on the findings, Steve Webb, spokesperson on energy and climate change for the Liberal Democrats, says: "If business and householders see the public sector is not taking energy efficiency seriously, they will wonder why they should do so themselves."

Meanwhile, it was recently reported by Greener Computing that using natural air to cool a data centre can allow enterprises to make savings and can be the first step in firms making a long-term green practices plan.

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