Question to the Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport:

To ask the Secretary of State for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, 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.

DCMS occupies a number of different offices across the United Kingdom, all of which are shared with other departments and/or private sector occupiers. All of these properties are managed by local building management teams (not employed by DCMS) with each location procuring their own energy suppliers and DCMS being re-charged for proportional usage. DCMS does not therefore procure its own energy suppliers.

Our DCMS London headquarters are located at 100 Parliament Street, Whitehall. This building is shared with other government departments and is managed by the Government Property Agency (GPA) who source energy from EDF Energy and from the Whitehall District Heating System.

DCMS Manchester headquarters are located at Bloc 17, Marble St. This building is shared with other companies/departments and is managed by private landlords Bruntwood. Bruntwood procure their energy from Unify Energy Ltd.

Other DCMS sites that our staff occupy are classed as satellite hubs, where only a small amount of desks are available to us - the energy providers for these buildings are chosen and managed by the landlords respectively.

In our most recent submission for Greening Government Commitment sustainability reporting (2021/22), DCMS logged 198.28 tonnes of CO2e.

In terms of improving and meeting reduction targets, a building wide solution of energy efficient LED lighting installation at our London HQ is underway and is due for completion in 2023 - this will involve a complete switchover of all current lighting in the building, including DCMS areas.

We continue to promote good practices, in all of our offices, to reduce emissions - including heavily restricting the use of domestic flights, reducing waste, paper usage and single use plastics.

The DCMS Property Strategy will see the department move into GPA managed Government hub accommodation as it becomes available, meaning that energy procurement will be undertaken by the GPA on behalf of its customers and in line with their Net Zero Strategy.