Question to the Ministry of Defence:

To ask the Secretary of State for Defence, 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 Ministry of Defence receives its Energy via the Crown Commercial Services (CCS) Government framework which procures Grid Gas from 'Total Gas and Power' and Electricity from 'EDF'. The Department is mandated to utilise this government framework.

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 environmental credentials will be part of the selection criteria.

Defence's publicly stated ambition is to reduce its emissions and increased its sustainability activity and as a department fully contribute to the achievement of the UK legal commitment to reach net zero emissions by 2050. To support this contribution Defence is taking a sectoral approach to aid in the identification and subsequent prioritisation of Departmental decarbonisation efforts while preserving our capability levels. This approach will help to drive real change from decarbonising our bases and barracks, innovation on future fuels through to increasing sequestration opportunities on our rural estate.

Defence's emissions are reported in the Department's Annual Report and Accounts. For Financial Year 2021-22, Defence's reported Carbon Footprint, which includes emissions from our estate, capabilities, services families' accommodation and business travel, is 3.341 mt CO2e. For the Defence estate and business travel only, the emissions were 0.965 mt CO2e.