News story

Home Office puts its energy use online

You can now see at a glance how much electricity, gas and water is used to power, heat and light Home Office headquarters in London.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government

The Home Office has become one of the first government departments to publish its energy use online by installing an online energy tracker for everyone to see.

The device updates every 30 minutes with the latest information about how much energy and water is being used in the building, how much it costs, and the amount of C02 that represents.

Working to be more energy efficient

Lynne Featherstone MP, the minister responsible for sustainability in the Home Office said, ‘The tracker will enable the public to see how the Home Office is working towards being a more energy efficient department while reducing its carbon footprint.

‘This demonstrates the government’s commitment to transparency, and will allow the public to see how much we are spending on gas and electricity in real time. This will also drive efficiency and ensure we are delivering value for money.’

The first to post the online trackers

The Home Office and Department for Energy and Climate Change are the first two departments to use the online energy monitors, which are part of a wider campaign to reduce government carbon emissions by 10 percent over the next 12 months.

Working hard to reduce emissions

Home Office Permanent Secretary David Normington said, ‘I’m really pleased that the Home Office is the first department to put energy use online. We are working hard to deliver reductions in our carbon dioxide emissions and help to reduce our overall fuel expenditure.  

‘Publishing our energy use online is a great motivator for the staff in headquarters and to other organisations who we hope will follow suit.’

Published 10 June 2010