Welsh Government estate achieves record environmental targets

13 Nov 2019 12:44 PM

The environmental performance of the Welsh Government’s administrative estate is exceeding expectations according to the 11th annual State of the Estate report out yesterday.

The report sets out how efficient our administrative estate has performed in 2018-19 which despite the very real constraints imposed by austerity and reducing budgets, has performed well.

In the last year we have reduced our overall running costs by 3% making savings of over half a million pounds. We have also made good progress on our waste targets with 88% of our waste being recycled, 11% used for energy production, and less than 1% being sent to landfill.

We have also seen significant progress in the reduction of our carbon emissions. Since our baseline year (2010 to 2011) we have reduced our CO2 emissions by 66% - more than doubling our expected target of 30%.

Commenting on the latest figures, Finance Minister Rebecca Evans yesterday said:

I am pleased that we are making significant progress in reducing the impact that our Welsh Government offices have on the environment, while maintaining a dispersed estate that contributes to local employment and economic activity across Welsh communities.

Relocation into modern offices and investment into our existing estate have contributed to this progress. However, to continue making these savings we need to work collaboratively with public sector partners to ensure we are using the resources available to us in the best possible way for the people of Wales.