Written question asked by Norman Baker (Liberal Democrat) on Monday, 17 March 2008, in the House of Commons. It was due for an answer on Wednesday, 19 March 2008. It was answered by Jonathan Shaw (Labour) on Tuesday, 22 April 2008 on behalf of the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.

Departmental Sustainable Development

Question: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when his Department plans to publish its sustainable operations policy statement.

Answer: As part of its ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS), DEFRA has an environmental policy which it displays in all of the buildings covered by its EMS. This policy covers sustainable operations on its estate. A copy of the policy statement can be made available on request.DEFRA has measures in place to make sure it meets the Sustainable Operations on the Government Estate (SOGE) targets. Progress against these targets is assessed annually and results are published by the Sustainable Development Commission in their Sustainable Development in Government (SDiG) report.DEFRA published its second Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) in November 2007 which sets out how the Department is putting SD into practice. This plan contains a summary of the initiatives being implemented to improve the operational performance across the estate.

Secondary information

Type: Written question
Reference: 195880; 474 c1908W
Session: 2007-08
Subjects: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Sustainable development
Link: View this Written question on www.publications.parliament.uk