27 November 2013
New report exposes lack of action by Scottish public sector in cutting emissions
“Dismal” performance of Scottish Public Bodies in delivering sustainable transport, according to new report by a leading transport campaign group
Transform Scotland [1] today (Wednesday 27-Nov) launched the report ‘Doing their Duty?', which finds that action is needed by the Scottish public sector to improve their performance on sustainable transport.
The report finds that over 60% of Scotland’s main public sector bodies (the ‘Major Player’ Public Bodies) have no plans in place to reduce their use of transport. The Public Bodies also remain massively dependent on air travel for trips from the Scottish Central Belt to London. There is however some evidence of vehicle purchasing moving towards low-emission vehicles. [2]
Transform Scotland chair Phil Matthews said:
"We need to see concerted action by the Scottish public sector to cut emissions and deliver sustainable transport. Transport is one of the key sources of greenhouse gases and Public Bodies have a vital role to play in cutting emissions. It is therefore surprising that the wider public sector appears to be taking so little action to help deliver Scotland's legally binding climate change targets.
"We find it particularly dismal that over 60% of Public Bodies do not have a Travel Plan in place, despite this being the most effective way to cut emissions from the transport sector, and after a decade or more of free travel planning advice being offered to them. We recommend that the main Public Bodies be given a year to put their house in order. After that it’s incumbent upon the Scottish Ministers to hold to account those that are failing to take action.
“So much can be achieved and we have identified a number of good practice examples to which the under-performing should aspire. We commend the National Library of Scotland for their efforts on travel planning, West Lothian Council for their use of low-emission vehicles, and SEPA for reducing their mainland UK flights by 96%. Others need to show such leadership.”
Report author Aoife Parker-Hedderman said:
“We carried out this research project as there appears to be no ongoing, systematic monitoring as to whether the Public Bodies are taking action to move to sustainable transport. Given that transport is the second-largest source of emissions, and given the scale of the Scottish public sector, significant progress is unlikely to be made in reducing emissions unless there is evidence that Public Bodies are taking action. So this report attempts to fill the gap, presenting a summary of their performance on three key areas of sustainable transport policy: Travel Planning, Low Emission Vehicles, and Travel to London."
The main report (32pp) is available at <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/GetFile.aspx?ItemId=703> [14.4 MB].
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] Transform Scotland
Transform Scotland is the national sustainable transport alliance, bringing together rail, bus and shipping operators, local authorities, national environment and conservation groups, businesses and local transport groups - see <http://www.transformscotland.org.uk/members.aspx> for details.
[2] ‘Doing Their Duty?’ report
The report investigated the actions of the ‘Major Player’ Public Bodies, presenting a summary of their performance on three key areas of sustainable transport policy:
* Travel planning: Whether they have plans in place to reduce their transport impacts.
* Low Emission Vehicles: Whether they are making their vehicle fleet less polluting.
* Travel to London: Whether they are using rail rather than air for travel from Scotland to London.
The key findings of this study are:
* At least 60% of Scottish Public Bodies have no plans for reducing their travel by means of implementing a Travel Plan. This is deeply disappointing given that they have been advised to do so, and offered practical support to do so, for well over a decade.
* There is some evidence that Public Bodies’ vehicle fleets are moving towards the acquisition of Lower Emission Vehicles. It is unclear, however, whether this is due to the impact of the Public Bodies Duty (or whether this is due to the general trend towards lower emission vehicles as a result of European legislation).
* Public Bodies are overwhelmingly choosing air travel (74% of journeys) over rail travel (26%) for long-distance travel between Edinburgh/Glasgow and London, despite the former being substantially more polluting.
[3] Photocall
Transform Scotland are holding a photocall at the National Library of Scotland, George IV Bridge, Edinburgh at 11:00 this morning (Tuesday). The report author will be presenting a certificate to senior representatives of the NLS. Further details on request. Photos will be available on request.
END OF NEWS RELEASE