"....the Executive will not only be judged by what we say - but by what we do. The Executive and, more importantly, our staff have a crucial role to play in meeting the ambitious targets we have set ourselves"
TomMcCabe, Scottish Executive
The Scottish Executive (SE) has published its annual report on the environmental performance of its estate. The report includes details on key areas of Executive operations, including:
- reductions in CO2 emissions from energy use
- progress toward recycling targets
- improvements in monitoring business travel
The report also outlines a vision for the future as the Executive publishes environmental targets to 2020 for its estate to sustain the drive for continuous environmental improvement.
The Scottish Executive Environmental Performance - Annual Report 2005/06" is the sixth to be published and outlines the Executive's targets to reduce the adverse environmental impacts of its own operations, the progress towards achieving them and towards the more extensive goal of sustainable development.
The Executive is in the process of establishing Environmental Management Systems (EMS) across its main buildings in order to improve the performance of the estate as a whole.
Waste arising
However the performance in relation to the level of wastes arising is poor, nor does the Executive appear to have figures that are detailed enough to identify precisely where the problem has arisen.
The Executive acknowledges that the "most concerning element" is that, although it has increased the amount of waste sent for recycling (up 6.5% but down 1% at 77% of total waste arisings), the total wastes arising has also increased by 18% from the previous year.
The SE says that this may be due in part to a focus on more accurate recording of the various wastes arising though it acknowledges that there may be other, more likely, underlying causes.
According to the report, "It is impossible to look back at the wastes produced to see exactly what the total volume comprised, however, what we can see is that around three-quarters of the difference can be attributed to paper sent for recycling".
"The reduction in paper purchased for general office use we have seen this year suggests that a larger amount of mixed paper fibres, like magazines, journals or direct marketing mail, is entering the waste stream but again it is impossible to ascertain its exact composition. Our focus has always been on how we manage the wastes produced therefore our approach will be first to establish a clear factual baseline and then to move forward from there."
The Executive indicates that the waste management contract provides for detailed management information which will be use to establish a baseline for waste arising in 2006/07, thereby enabling a target to be set for waste reduction by the end of July 2007.
Paper
During 2005/06 the Executive recycled 77% (down 1%) of its waste arising from target buildings. This was achieved through a waste management contract which in an enhanced form at the Executives four main Edinburgh buildings - Victoria Quay, Saughton House, St Andrew's House and Pentland House - combines on-site separation of paper and cardboard from the general waste stream with off-site separation of paper, cardboard, aluminium cans, plastic, glass, metal and wood.
At other buildings the Executive indicates that the arrangements predominantly cover paper, cardboard and aluminium cans, with some further special arrangements in place for toner cartridges, cooking oil and fluorescent tubes.
As a check on the accuracy of reported information the Executive audited the unloading and the separation of waste types from a sample container skip from one of the largest buildings. However whether a single skip would give representative results is debatable.
PCs and Furniture
In addition to the recycling of PCs where several thousand items of computer equipment were dealt with, over a thousand items of furniture were re-used or recycled.
Scottish Executive's comments on overall performance
Minister for Finance and Public Service Reform Tom McCabe said:
"The Executive's commitment to the environment is clear - We want a Scotland which delivers sustainable economic development putting environmental concerns at the heart of public policy.
"But the Executive will not only be judged by what we say - but by what we do. The Executive and, more importantly, our staff have a crucial role to play in meeting the ambitious targets we have set ourselves.
"This report demonstrates we are making progress towards reducing the impact of our operations. It also provides a vision for the future with a new set of longer-term targets, looking at waste reduction and setting new standards for addressing the greenhouse gas emissions from our energy use and business travel."
Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development, said:
"Building a sustainable Scotland needs a commitment from everyone to make the changes necessary to ensure the legacy we leave is a sustainable one. The simple facts are that what we do in our work places and in our homes and how we do it will have an effect on the quality of life for future generations. The Executive has a key role to play in ensuring that its operations are consistent with the commitments of its environmental policy."
The report can be found on the Scottish Executive's website