Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee

Twenty-Third Report - Measuring and reporting public sector greenhouse gas emissions

Public Accounts Committee HC 39 Published 2 November 2022

Report Status

Government responded

Conclusions & Recommendations

18 items (11 recs)

Source

View on Parliament website ↗

Government Response

AI assessment · 17 of 18 classified

Accepted 12

Acknowledged 2

Deferred 2

Not Addressed 1

Recommendations

2 results

2 Deferred

The public sector as a whole lacks clear standards for measuring and reporting emissions.

Recommendation

The public sector as a whole lacks clear standards for measuring and reporting emissions. BEIS has set expectations that all public sector bodies should consistently measure and report their emissions, but BEIS, HM Treasury and Defra have so far only … Read more

Government Response Summary

The government will set out a timetable for further work towards a coherent measurement and reporting framework in summer 2023, dependent on views from other relevant authorities across the public sector who are responsible for setting their own reporting requirements.

HM Treasury

View Details →

5 Deferred

The public sector risks falling behind on the reporting of its emissions but could learn...

Recommendation

The public sector risks falling behind on the reporting of its emissions but could learn from developing practice in private sector and the devolved administrations. While the UK government has committed to leading by example in efforts to decarbonise, other … Read more The public sector risks falling behind on the reporting of its emissions but could learn from developing practice in private sector and the devolved administrations. While the UK government has committed to leading by example in efforts to decarbonise, other sectors and the devolved administrations are already doing more to promote fuller reporting of emissions. Parts of the private sector are seeking to measure and report on the indirect emissions attributable to their operations, known as scope 3 emissions, for example arising from goods and services purchased from external suppliers. The centre of government has not mandated public sector bodies in England to report their scope 3 emissions which can, in some cases, be large. Some central government bodies have taken the initiative to report their scope 3 emissions on a voluntary basis and the NHS has taken steps to promote the reporting of scope 3 emissions, but elsewhere in the public sector reporting is patchy. This means that much of the data currently published does not capture the full carbon impact of the public sector’s activities. By contrast, firms bidding for government contracts worth more than £5 million already have to report scope 3 emissions more fully and it is expected that all large private sector firms will be Measuring and reporting public sector greenhouse gas emissions 7 required to give greater consideration to scope 3 emissions from 2025. The devolved administrations in Wales and Scotland have taken steps to increase the scope of public sector emissions reporting to include more scope 3 emissions. Recommendation: BEIS and HM Treasury should ensure that the reporting requirements placed on the public sector are aligned with their objective to lead by example in delivering net zero. This should include consideration of which bodies should report their scope 3 emissions and how best this should be done. 8 Measuring and reporting public sector greenhouse gas emissions 1 Measuring and reporting Show less

Government Response Summary

The government agrees to consider scope 3 emissions reporting requirements for the public sector, but this will be addressed during 2023-25, with any requirements set out in the 2026-30 GGCs and amendments made in SRG updates as appropriate.

HM Treasury

View Details →