Rocky Harris Department for Environment, UK Use of environmental-economic accounting applications for UK Sustainable Consumption and Production policies IAOS Conference Santiago, October 2010

Introduction Sustainable Consumption and Production (SCP) is a relatively new cross-cutting policy area Four broad themes Sustainable production and resource efficiency Sustainable consumption and consumer behaviours Sustainable products and sustainable materials management Government showing leadership through sustainable operations and procurement Characterised by life-cycle perspective Now subsumed by wider Green Economy agenda

Sustainable production: resource efficiency policies targeted at different industrial sectors Introducing regulatory and fiscal measures to reduce pollution and reduce consumption of natural resources Encouraging sector sustainable development strategies and commitments Providing advice to businesses about opportunities for resource efficiency, energy audits etc Developing the environmental goods and services (EGS) sector

Sustainable production: environmental accounts applications Negotiating and agreements and monitoring policies for the environmental performance of individual sectors Understanding drivers of change (structural decomposition analysis) Estimating the incidence on different economic sectors of proposed new taxes such as the Climate Change levy Informing the strategic targeting of the Environment Agency’s monitoring of the environmental impacts of different industrial sectors Comparing spending on the environment with outcomes

Dash for gas 23% UK production (non- household) emissions total

Sustainable consumption policies o Encouraging behaviour change is about raising awareness ranges from the introduction of publicity campaigns and incorporation of discussions within the school curricula through to the imposition of mandatory metering systems o Supported by product policies for example to restrict the availability of certain less sustainable products (‘choice editing’) reduce price differentials between sustainable and less sustainable products actions taken to provide recycling facilities and support the market for recycled goods

Key behaviours and impacts Behaviour goalImpact (kg/hh pa)Current take-up Insulate home75070% Manage energy use53058% Micro-generation350<1% Recycle waste54071% Waste less60064% Reduce water use14052% More efficient cars78027% Travel locally without car75029% Cut short haul flights1,120.28% Use energy efficient products14062% Buy local food in season 1037% Adopt better diets2606%

Sustainable products

Sustainable products: applications EU’s EIPRO study shows that food and drink, transport and housing products account for 70-80% of impacts Accounts are most relevant as sources of information about the overall context of products policy For example, comparing the contribution of electricity use by appliances covered by integrated products policy with changes in overall electricity consumption within the home Also used for carbon footprinting applications Importance of emissions embedded within capital formation How emissions relating to services are spread across a wide supply chain The potential contribution of technological improvements in products towards climate change targets

Net trade 25% UK food chain greenhouse gas emissions 100% UK production 47% Pre-farm gate e.g. Fertilisers 3% Food services 5% Food manufacturing 9% UK agriculture and fisheries 35% Overseas production 30% Food exports -5% Food retail 2% Catering 3% Households 14% Food shopping 3% Cooking, storage 11% Road freight within UK 4% Mapping greenhouse gas emissions and the food chain Transport 10% Overseas transport 6%

Business ?mtCO2e Homes 35mtCO2e Mapping greenhouse gas emissions from water use Water distribution 0.6mtCO2e Direct abstractions Water supply treatment 1 mtCO2e Leakage 0.4mtCO2e Waste water treatment 2.1mtCO2e Waste water collection 0.2mtCO2e 15,350mcm Water company admin 0.2mtCO2e 3,600mcm 3,700mcm 8,700mcm 20,800mcm Sludge to land 1-2 mtCO2e Business

Government showing leadership Policy activities: Government being seen to manage its own operations in a sustainable manner and meeting its own sustainability targets Government using its purchasing power to leverage change amongst its suppliers and ensuring the sustainability of its supply chains Two different approaches 1.Top down – data from national statistics sources 2.Bottom-up – data from government organisations

CO 2 emissions from UK public sector share of energy used in the production of goods (first order effect, including electricity) Construction Health and social work Pharmaceuticals Medical instruments Other business services Land transport services Hotels and catering Sewerage and refuse Public sector procurement spend (£bn) Share of market (%)Area of bubble indicates amount of carbon

Scottish Government carbon accounting project Government policies and grants Government procurement Induced emissions from spending of wages and salaries of public sector and supply chain Government operations Products policy Business engagement Household behaviours

Conclusions and observations  Useful for determining broad strategic direction and monitoring progress, not so useful for detailed policy targetting apart from resource efficiency policies  Can be used for the compilation of aggregate indicators although none adopted in the UK as yet  Need to incorporate more detail on household impacts within the framework of the accounts  More up-to-date information required – nowcasting techniques are being explored