To ask the Minister of Finance to detail the steps being taken to make the Northern Ireland Civil Service and its projects less reliant on energy from fossil fuels.

Since 2011, the Department of Finance has had consecutive three year energy efficiency plans and has achieved a reduction of over 15% in energy usage in that time, reducing fossil fuel use.

Multiple projects have been undertaken across the NICS Office Estate to reduce energy consumption, including refurbishing boiler houses, replacing chiller equipment, installing voltage optimisation equipment and installing energy efficient LED lighting. As well as reducing the reliance of our office estate on energy from fossil fuels, we are also moving to reduce the size of the estate and minimise the need for staff to travel. Connect2 hubs will support hybrid working across the civil service by providing well-equipped remote working spaces in regional locations. These facilities will reduce the need for staff to commute long distances.

Contracts awarded by the Department of Finance to supply electricity to public bodies are 100% green supply. A procurement is also underway to contract for the supply of Bio Liquefied Petroleum gas to public bodies.

The Department provides advice to NICS Departments on new building projects. All new projects include a target of achieving an ‘Excellent’ rating under the Building Research Establishment Environmental Assessment Method (BREEAM). BREEAM is an international sustainability rating scheme for the built environment and provides a strong focus on sustainability in building design, construction and use. Since this requirement was introduced over 10 years ago, BREEAM has regularly updated its standards to drive forward further improvement.

While BREEAM measures a broad spectrum of environmental, social and economic sustainability themes, one measure, ‘Ene01 - Reduction of energy use and carbon emissions’, specifically encourages the design of energy efficient buildings with energy performance above Building Regulation standards. BREEAM is therefore designed to focus on tackling energy and carbon emissions. This assists Departments to make significant reductions in carbon emissions at the asset level.