UK Climate Change Programme 2006 - JNCC - Defra

Stimulating action by individuals
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As set out in the Public Sector chapter:
• The Government will use its own
purchasing power to lead by example and
has set itself a challenge of being an EU
leader in sustainable public procurement
by 2009.
• In Summer 2006, the Government will
introduce new strategic targets for the
central government estate.
Enable – make it easy to behave
differently
8. This is the starting point. We know that providing
individuals and communities with information is
not sufficient to enable behaviour change. We
need to help people make responsible choices by
providing them with accessible alternatives and
suitable infrastructure, and supporting them with
the necessary skills and information.
• As part of its Market Transformation
Programme, the Government will identify
potential eco-design standards for
important products in households and
non-households sectors.
• The Government will explore the role of
industry voluntary agreements such as
the Code of Conduct on Digital TV
services, procurement policy and UK-Led
International Task Force on Sustainable
Products which will encourage
international benchmarking.
• Budget 2006 announced a new initiative,
in partnership with major retailers and
the Energy Saving Trust, to introduce
voluntary schemes in the retail sector
which encourage the purchase of more
energy efficient alternatives in consumer
electronics.
• The Government will continue to support
colour-coded efficiency labels for products
to help consumers make sustainable
choices.
• Providing better information and
feedback on energy consumption through
better billing and metering will also help
individuals become more responsible in
the way they use energy. The
Government will work with Ofgem to
explore these benefits and the potential
for introducing smart metering in the UK.
• Making sustainable choices when
travelling is equally important. The
Government will therefore explore the
role of “smarter choices” to help curb
emissions.
• Defra is providing up to £4m over three
years to roll out a new package of
measures to help thousands of
community groups across England to take
action on sustainable development,
including climate change. ‘Every action
counts’ will provide new tools,
information and support to community
groups in taking small simple actions on
energy, waste and water which add up to
make a big difference nationwide. This
initiative will also support over 20
national voluntary and community sector
organisations to develop and implement
their own sustainable development
action plan, which will include the
contribution these bodies can make to
tackling climate change and energy
efficiency. This initiative will be launched
later in 2006.