Question to the Department for Education:

To ask the Secretary of State for Education, which energy provider supplies energy to their Department; how much carbon dioxide was emitted by their Department in the latest period for which figures are available; whether the criteria their Department uses to select an energy supplier include how environmentally friendly that supplier is; and what recent steps their Department has taken to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its energy use.

The Crown Commercial Service (CCS) operates a centralised energy procurement strategy for central Government and is responsible for selecting the gas and power supply companies on behalf of all departments. CCS is currently conducting its latest tender round on behalf of departments and the supplier’s environmental credentials will be part of the selection criteria.

The Government Property Agency (GPA) manages the Department’s building assets and procures energy through the CCS frameworks. The current suppliers are Total Energies Gas & Power Ltd for gas and EDF Energy for electricity. These suppliers are used in the following offices where the Department is the major tenant: Coventry, London and Sheffield.

The Department is also the major tenant in its Darlington and Manchester offices. The GPA do not hold the details of utilities suppliers for those offices where energy suppliers are managed directly by the landlord.

The Department’s most recent carbon emissions data is in the Greening Government Commitments 2019 to 2020 annual report. It is available here: https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/1029548/Greening_Government_Commitments_Annual_Report_2019_to_2020.pdf

The Department’s steps to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from its energy use are delivered through the GPA’s activities. More broadly, the Department’s steps to reduce emission are outlined in the Greening Government Commitments, which outlines the UK Government’s intentions to mitigate climate change and work towards Net Zero by 2050: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/greening-government-commitments-2021-to-2025/greening-government-commitments-2021-to-2025.

The Department is also supporting the education sector to play its role in positively responding to climate change. This work was set out in April 2022 in our Sustainability and Climate Change Strategy for the education and children’s services systems: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/sustainability-and-climate-change-strategy/sustainability-and-climate-change-a-strategy-for-the-education-and-childrens-services-systems.