The Conservatives have pledged to seek advice from the UK’s top employers on how to cut the emissions of government departments.
Shadow chancellor George Osborne said the Tories would work with companies including Tesco, BT and B&Q to learn how the party could reduce Whitehall emissions by 10% in one year, should they win the next general election.
Osborne said government buildings should be much more energy efficient and public departments should use more electric vehicles.
Departments will see their efforts to reduce emissions documented in real time on the internet, while those that fail to make the required efficiencies will see their budgets cut.
Osborne said: “We are deadly serious about achieving this 10% reduction. We have set ourselves a very challenging target of doing it within 12 months, knowing full well that people can hold us to account.”
The proposals will enable the government to save £300m a year, Reuters has reported.
