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Departments: Energy

Volume 457: debated on Tuesday 6 March 2007

To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what strategy she has put in place for (a) the use of renewable energy and (b) meeting energy targets in her Department's buildings; and if she will make a statement. (125405)

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office sets and manages all of the Government's sustainable operations energy targets in our environmental management programme (BMP). The use of renewable energy is embedded in our energy procurement arrangements. As a result, we purchase 100 per cent. of the electricity we use at our main building in King Charles street, equating to 39 per cent. of all the electricity we use in the UK, from renewable sources. In addition, as part of implementing our carbon management programme (CMP), developed with the Carbon Trust, we will shortly be examining the practicality of generating from renewable sources some of the electricity used at our site at Hanslope park, which accounts for 39 per cent. of our UK energy consumption.

Our strategy for meeting our other energy targets is, similarly, to manage them in our BMP, undertake energy saving projects, apply the building research establishment environmental assessment method to our new builds and refurbishments and implement key energy efficiency recommendations contained in our CMP.