Our energy use

Details of EA's energy use in all its buildings and its work to reduce carbon, water use, and waste.

It’s our job to create a better place for people and wildlife. We need to make sure we do our work in as environmentally sensitive a way as possible.

By March 2020 we plan to:

  • reduce the amount of carbon dioxide that all our activities put into the atmosphere
  • reduce energy use in our offices and buildings
  • reduce the amount of water we use
  • avoid sending waste to landfill
  • reduce the number of miles we drive

We are finalising our 2020 targets, but they will include a 45% reduction in overall carbon emissions and more work to improve the environmental performance of our supply chain.

Our progress so far

Between 2005 and 2015 we:

  • reduced our carbon footprint by 40%, saving nearly 23,500 tonnes of carbon
  • cut business mileage by 37%, that’s 19 million miles
  • produced 50% less office waste, and cut waste to landfill by 96%
  • reduced mains water use by 39% – enough to fill 10 Olympic-sized swimming pools a year
  • used timber from sustainable sources only

How we’re doing it

We’re achieving our targets through a range of initiatives including:

  • making sure our buildings are well insulated and the heating isn’t on too much
  • investing in low carbon technologies such as eco cooling our computer rooms, LED lighting, photovoltaic cells and methanol fuel cells
  • installing voltage optimisation across 44 of our buildings, reducing carbon emissions and energy bills by around 8% at each site
  • rainwater harvesters, low flush toilets, waterless urinals, low flow showers and infra-red activated spray taps in our offices
  • stopping our food waste going to landfill by collecting it and turning it into energy through anaerobic digestion
  • providing our staff with environmentally friendly transport alternatives
  • using renewable technology, for example, photovoltaic cells, solar hot water heating and biomass boilers

Our achievements

We’re accredited to:

  • the ISO 14001
  • Eco-Management and Audit Scheme (EMAS)

We have won:

  • Business Mileage Champion of the Year 2008 (Fleet Hero Awards 2008)
  • Excellence in Environmental Management 2009 (EMAS Awards )
  • Carbon Champion 2012 (West of England Carbon Challenge Awards )
  • Best Public Sector Fleet 2013 (Fleet Hero Awards)
  • Carbon Champion: Outstanding Achievement 2013 (West of England Carbon Challenge Awards)
  • Sustainable Business of the Year 2013 (Energy and Environment Awards)
  • Best Public Service Recycler of the Year 2014 (National Recycling Awards)
  • Sustainable Business of the Year 2014 (Environment and Energy Awards)
  • Public Service Recycler of the Year 2014 (MRW National Recycling Awards)
  • Green Fleet of the Year 2015 (Fleet News Awards)

What we’re doing next

We’ll continue reducing our impact on the environment by:

  • ensuring all our staff make sustainable choices in their work
  • minimising the environmental impact of the goods and services we buy
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