| Published | 17 January 2008 |
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Residents who use the internet to contact their local council could help save the equivalent of millions of air miles in carbon emissions, according to new research issued today by Communities and Local Government.
In a world first, the department commissioned an independent study report by the award winning environmental specialists Best Foot Forward to discover how big a contribution councils could make to tackling climate change by encouraging local people to turn to their website for routine transactions.
The report found that not only is online service more cost efficient in staff time than the use of paper, but there are also parallel savings in terms of CO2 emissions because of the reduced number of journeys.
Contrary to what was expected, it also shows that these carbon savings are significantly in excess of the negative impact of extra IT server capacity;
The research was based on real life data supplied by Sunderland City Council which showed that increasing the number of online applications for five key local authority services - planning, schools admissions, registrar's certificates, environmental services enquiries and council tax payments.
The results revealed the city council could save 80,000 kg of CO2 each year. Rolled out nationally this is the equivalent of over 14,000 tonnes of CO2 or 5,362 return air flights from Heathrow to Malaga each year.
Parmjit Dhanda, e-Government minister said:
"We know that driving to the Town Hall to carry out a transaction uses 20 times more energy than doing it online. That's why it's so important that we encourage people to talk to their local authority through the web.
"The Best Foot Forward study supports Government plans for a low carbon economy and debunks the received wisdom that increases in IT server capacity negate any CO2 savings arising from the Internet economy."
Councillor Bob Symonds, Leader of Sunderland City Council, said:
"Sunderland City Council is delighted to have been part of this study. Delivering services in ways that are efficient as well as environmentally beneficial by using the appropriate technology is a continuing priority for the City Council. With our partners across Sunderland, we have declared our commitment to sustaining and nurturing the city's green, clean, coastal environment as part of our Sunderland way of life."
The report concludes that increasing the take-up of online services can form an important part of a broader carbon reduction strategy in all local authorities, improving their capacity to deliver better quality services without requiring an increase in CO2 emissions.
1. A copy of Best Foot Forward's study (with Sunderland City Council) of An e-Government Truth: Potential CO2 Efficiencies from Online Provision of Local Government Services can de downloaded at www.communities.gov.uk/takeup.
2. The independent study was funded through the award-winning 'Connect to your Council' Take-Up Campaign, launched by Communities and Local Government in May 2006 and designed to encourage more people to use online council services.
3. Best Foot Forward (BFF) (www.bestfootforward.com - external link) is one of Europe's leading sustainability consultancies specialising in energy and natural resource accounting methodologies such as resource flow analysis, ecological footprinting and carbon accounting. In 2005, BFF was awarded a Queens Awards for Enterprise in Sustainable Development. BFF methodology conforms to the Global Footprint Network Footprint Standards 2006.
4. Sunderland City Council is the winner of the Government's Digital Challenge, being identified as an exemplar in how to use digital technology to tackle social exclusion. Sunderland is aiming to become a low-carbon Council and adopted a Carbon Plan in June 2007 that aims to reduce the Council's carbon emissions by 10 per cent (ie 6,000 tonnes) from 2007-2012.
5. A return flight from Heathrow to Malaga burns 382 litres of fuel per person, creating 2,696kg of carbon dioxide.
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