Government ICT reduces emissions by 8%

The Greening Government ICT Annual Report 2023 to 2024 demonstrates that significant progress has been made in reducing the environmental impact of government ICT operations, and serves as both a benchmark and a roadmap, offering valuable insights into how ICT can support the government’s broader sustainability and net-zero goals.

This is a report under the 2021 to 2025 framework, which was developed and implemented under the previous Conservative government.

This report summarises the UK government’s progress on the Greening Government ICT commitments (as set out in the Greening Government Commitments 2021 to 2025 framework), along with supporting data.

In particular, the report provides an update on progress against the Greening Government ICT commitments, followed by detailed analysis of data on carbon emissions and circularity at government and departmental level.

This report has been produced by Defra but covers progress across all UK government departments. Devolved administrations are not included - a full definition of departments and information in scope is included in the appendix.

A number of opportunities to integrate sustainability into digital strategies are highlighted:

• Procurement Practices: Prioritise vendors that align with government sustainability goals and offer energy-efficient products and services.
• Lifecycle Management: Extend device lifespans through refurbishment and reuse while leveraging asset tracking systems to monitor usage.
• Collaboration: Work across departments to share best practices and innovations, particularly in managing Scope 3 emissions and optimising energy use.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Use insights from the report to identify high-impact areas for emissions reduction, such as transitioning legacy systems to energy-efficient cloud solutions.

Emissions reductions

Government ICT operations saw a total CO2e emissions reduction of 8% compared to the previous year, with total emissions for 2023–2024 estimated at 342,874 tonnes. This represents a decrease of 30,913 tonnes year-on-year. Emissions per full-time equivalent (FTE) were reduced by 19%, from 0.55 tonnes to 0.45 tonnes.

However, the report acknowledges that the UK Electricity CO2e factor - used to estimate emissions from energy consumption - increased by 7% during the reporting period. Without this increase, total emissions would have been even lower, at 329,702 tonnes.

The inclusion of Scope 3 emissions - those related to hardware production, distribution, and waste - provides a more comprehensive view of ICT’s environmental impact. These Scope 3 emissions accounted for 66.24% of the total, with end-user devices (33.52%) and peripheral IT equipment (26.64%) as the largest contributors.

E-waste management & circularity

The government generated 1,491 tonnes of ICT waste in 2023–2024, a 6% reduction compared to the previous year. Efforts to reuse or recycle e-waste have seen progress, though challenges remain.

• Reused Waste: 34% of waste was reused, down from 41% in the prior year. This decline is attributed to reporting changes that exclude extended device lifespans from reuse metrics.
• Recycled Waste: 63% of waste was recycled, up from 50%, reflecting improved recycling efforts.
• Landfill: Only 1.3% of ICT waste (20 tonnes) went to landfill, slightly up from 0.8% (15 tonnes) in 2022–2023. Personal devices and security restrictions were cited as barriers to reuse or recycling.

The report emphasises the waste hierarchy, prioritising reuse where possible, followed by recycling, and minimising landfill contributions. A notable effort is the government’s focus on extending the lifecycle of devices to delay their disposal.

Drivers of emissions

Understanding the sources of emissions helps departments prioritise interventions. The report categorises emissions as follows:

1. End-User Devices (33.52%): PCs, laptops, and smartphones dominate this category, with embodied carbon from manufacturing being the primary contributor.
2. Peripheral IT Equipment (26.64%): Monitors, keyboards, and other accessories are the second-largest source.
3. Servers (23.73%): Emissions from on-premise, outsourced, and public cloud hosting solutions are significant.
4. Networking (6.23%): Routers and switches contribute to transmission-related emissions.
5. Printers and Scanners (6.83%): Often overlooked, these devices still generate measurable emissions.

Departmental contributions & reporting

The report includes data from 19 ministerial departments, covering 69 government entities. This expanded participation, up from 16 departments and 56 entities in the previous year, represents 767,179 FTEs, an increase of over 91,000 staff.

Departmental statistics show varying progress:

• The Department of Health and Social Care achieved the largest reduction in emissions, cutting 35.12% (10,515 tonnes).
• The Ministry of Defence saw the most significant absolute reduction in emissions, decreasing by 36,827 tonnes.
• Some departments, including the Ministry of Justice, reported increases, reflecting challenges in managing diverse ICT needs across operations.

Future priorities

Looking ahead, the government aims to build on its progress through several initiatives:

1. ICT Sustainability Framework: Developing a national framework to standardise and enhance green ICT practices across departments.
2. Scope 3 Emissions: Addressing supply chain emissions remains a priority, with efforts to engage suppliers and refine reporting methodologies.
3. Energy Efficiency in Emerging Technologies: With the rise of AI and machine learning, the government is emphasising the need for energy-efficient design and deployment of new systems.
4. Comprehensive Reporting: Expanding the scope of waste and emissions data collection to include previously excluded ICT services, such as Software-as-a-Service (SaaS).