Actions on saving energy

The Scottish Government published its Carbon Management Plan in May 2009.  It identifies actions to reduce our carbon footprint and accelerate progress towards a Greener Government.

Saving energy is an essential part of the Scottish Government's commitment to tackling climate change and protecting the environment.

That's why we've taken steps to reduce how much energy we use in our buildings and offices.

What we're doing to cut our energy use

We are working towards reducing the CO₂ emissions caused by energy use in our buildings by 12.6%, from 1999/2000 levels by March 2011. This will build to a 30% reduction by 2020.

We are building on a range of work to make our estate more energy-efficient. This includes the replacement of the Victoria Quay lighting system and greener IT initiatives.

We will be removing water coolers from the estate by the end of 2009 and will initiate a voltage reduction scheme within the SG estate.

We currently take steps to minimise unnecessary lighting in some of our larger buildings through the use of automated control systems.

We also highlight simple and effective measures like switching off unnecessary lighting where no such controls are available.