AQW 15966/17-22

Ms Kellie Armstrong
Alliance Party
Strangford

Tabled Date: 08/03/2021
Answered On Date: 18/03/2021
Priority Written: No

Question:
To ask the Minister of Finance what actions are being taken to decarbonise the public sector estate.

Answer:

The Department of Finance (DoF) is responsible for managing the Civil Service Office Estate, which equates to around 4% of the total Public Sector energy consumption here.

DoF aims, through its Office Estate Energy Efficiency and Carbon Reduction plans, to achieve culminative energy savings and consequential reductions in carbon. These savings support and feed into the wider Energy Management Strategy and Action Plan to 2030 for Central Government introduced by the Department for Economy (DfE).

Further, new or refurbished DoF buildings undergo BRE Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM) appraisal and the use of energy efficient installations has been incorporated into the Civil Service Accommodation Standards specification.