Delivering Sustainable Development:
HM Revenue & Customs Action Plan

Securing the Future

1.1 The Government’s Sustainable Development Strategy Securing the Future was published in March 2005. It sets out the Government’s approach to tackling the problems of climate change, poverty and environmental degradation, enabling people to satisfy their basic needs and enjoy a better quality of life without compromising the quality of life of future generations. In support of the strategy all Government departments have committed to producing their own sustainable development action plans (SDAPs). HMRC’s SDAP is about integrating sustainable development (SD) considerations into its policies, operations and day-to-day activities. It focuses activity under the four areas the government has identified for priority action:

• sustainable consumption and production;
• climate change and energy;
• natural resource protection and environmental enhancement; and
• sustainable communities.

Further information about Securing the Future can be found at Annex A.

Sustainable Development and HM Revenue and Customs

1.2 HMRC is responsible for administering tax and customs controls systems fairly and efficiently. As one of the largest government departments, with a staffing level approaching 100,000 and an estate extending across most of the UK, HMRC has an important role to play in the delivery of the UK Sustainable Development Strategy. Sustainable development has a significant impact on the resources used across the HMRC estate, the many millions of letters and forms issued every year, the environmental policies and front line activities for which HMRC is responsible and the attitudes and values of the HMRC people.

Sustainable development for HMRC is about:

• encouraging all employees to think more proactively about the impact they and HMRC are having on the environment and to take simple effective steps to make a difference by, for example: turning off lights and PC monitors and / or base stations, reusing - rather than binning printer and photocopying paper, incorporating SD in training and induction, SD volunteering;
• managing business operations and the estate in a sustainable manner, for example, wherever possible making savings in energy, paper and water consumption, reducing waste, carrying out environmental assessments, building SD into refurbishment projects;
• taking sustainable decisions on the procurement of goods and services, eg recycled paper, fuel efficient vehicles, doing away with bottled water;
• reducing CO2 emissions through reductions in business mileage and greater use of telephone and video conferencing, promoting green travel policies; and
• integrating sustainable development into the business planning process rather than viewing it as an add-on, embedding SD into contracts with external providers.

It is also about ensuring that existing and new policies take account of environmental, social and economic issues, for example:

• the administration and control of VAT and excise duties, employment taxes, benefits and credits supports the government’s objective for a strong and productive economy and a fair society where there is opportunity and security for all;
• environmental taxes support the priority for action on climate change and the reduction of CO2 emissions and global warming. The Climate Change Levy (CCL) encourages the development and take-up of renewable forms of energy;
• landfill tax has a three-fold effect in terms of encouraging recycling, reducing waste and reducing methane emissions from landfill;
• aggregate tax addresses the environmental costs associated with quarrying operations – noise, dust, visual intrusion, loss of amenity and damage to biodiversity. The tax supports the Government’s strategy to encourage the use / reuse of alternative materials; and
• frontier responsibilities have a key role in the protection of natural resources eg prohibition the importation of ozone depleting substances, and endangered species through prevention and deterrence.

Top

Benefits and risks

The benefits to HMRC of achieving the SDAP objectives include substantial savings in resource usage and running costs along with waste reduction and raising awareness of SD in operations and policies. In addition, HMRC will benefit the community by changing attitudes and behaviours to the environment through its work on environmental taxes.

The risks of not taking action include:

• Failure to support sustainable economic growth.
• Failure to contribute to UK Government target reductions of CO2 emissions.
• No incentives for the development and take up of renewable energy sources.
• Reduced drive for recycling and continued use of Landfill for waste disposal, which will contribute to climate change.
• Failure to protect natural resources and endangered species.
• Increased running costs.
• Reputational damage.

Accountability

1.4 HMRC has secured top-level commitment to sustainable development. The Financial Secretary, John Healey MP, provides the Ministerial focus for Sustainable Development in the Chancellor’s Departments and Agencies, and sits on the interdepartmental Ministerial committee for SD and the environment. The Chairman and deputy chairman of HMRC are both actively involved with Business in the Community (BITC) and the HMRC Director Corporate Services provides senior level leadership and champions Sustainable Development across the department.

Overseeing the implementation of the SDAP is the Corporate Responsibility Steering Group, which is chaired by a HMRC non-executive director and includes representation from directors across a range of operational business areas. Reporting to the Steering Group will be a Sustainable Development Operating Committee with responsibility for the practical implementation of the plan.

Top

Key Actions for 2006

1. Sustainable Production and Consumption, i.e. achieving more with less

HMRC Headline Outcome	Key commitments	Milestones	Reporting / Outcomes	Lead Business area
Implementation of a sustainable procurement strategy	To produce and implement a sustainable procurement strategy, which ensures that whole life costs, energy efficiency and waste management are taken into account for all contract specifications and negotiations.	Strategy produced and agreed by 31 March 06.	Strategy implemented and incorporated into procurement policy and guidance.   Specifications and contracts audited to verify SD inclusion.	Commercial           Internal Audit
Incorporation of SD into contract management	To review the SD content of existing major PFI contracts, e.g. Mapeley, Fujitsu, CAP Gemini etc to ensure they incorporate sustainable procurement objectives.	SD elements of contracts reviewed by 31 October 06.	Issues of concern raised with suppliers and recommended contract changes discussed with contract management teams.	Estates & Support Services / Information Management Services / Commercial Directorate
Reduction in paper consumption	To reduce paper consumption through e-business channels, forms rationalisation and re-usage, i.e. reduce forms through encouraging on-line returns, reusing A4 paper in printers.	Quarterly meetings with key business heads. Paper usage assessed at 31 August 06	Business heads take positive action on SD as part of customer interface. 10% reduction in paper usage	Business Heads   Knowledge, Analysis and Information / Communications & Marketing / Product and Process Groups.
Reduction in waste and increase in recycling levels	To raise awareness of the need to reduce waste and to increase recycling levels of general office waste to 75% by 31 December 06.	Completion of SD in Government questionnaire by 31 July 2006. Paper to Operations Committee by 31 May 06.	Provision of reliable data on current waste levels by PFI contractors. Recycling of all confidential and restricted paper waste	Estates & Support Services     Estates & Support Services

2. Climate Change and Energy

HMRC Headline Outcome	Key commitments	Milestones	Reporting / Outcomes	Lead Business area
Reduction in HMRC’s contribution to global warming, in terms of energy consumption and travel related CO2 emissions	To work with the Carbon Trust and PFI contractors to raise awareness and reduce carbon emissions by 5% by 31 December 06. To increase energy efficiency of buildings by 5% by 31 December 06. To reduce road transport CO2 emissions by 10% through: reductions in business mileage improved fuel efficiency greater use of video / telephone conferencing.	Carbon Trust energy campaigns commence 31 March 06. Energy consumption reviewed July 06.     Regional staff environmental mangers appointed by July 06.   Fleet Management Unit to support development of Sustainable Fleet Management Strategy. Improvement and promotion of video / telephone conferencing.	5% reduction in carbon emissions by 31 Dec 06. 5% increase in energy efficiency 5% reduction in carbon emissions by 31 Dec 06. 5% increase in energy efficiency   Improved management systems for monitoring and reducing CO2 levels and waste. Production of a Sustainable Fleet Management Strategy Intranet and OneHMRC articles.	Estates   Estates and Business Heads               Estates National Fleet Management Unit         IMS / Communications
IT Management	To work with IMS on campaign to switch off PS base stations overnight	Feasibility assessment of campaign in terms of updating data, programmes completed by July 06 Energy savings of 10%	Launch of campaign	IMS / Communications
Continued administration and review of the effectiveness of the Climate Change Levy	To promote HMRC’s work on policy for the Climate Change Levy, vital for the Government to meet UK and international targets for reducing CO2 emissions.	Ongoing review of the levy, in terms of its environmental and administrative effectiveness.	CCL is promoted and appropriate levies are collected.	Environmental and Transport Taxes

3. Natural Resource Protection and Environmental Enhancement

HMRC Headline Outcome	Key commitments	Milestones	Reporting / Outcomes	Lead Business area
Protection of natural habitats and endangered species through frontier controls       Prohibition of the importation of ozone depleting substances	To prevent and deter the illegal international trade in endangered species. To reduce and deter importation of wood from unsustainable sources. To protect the ozone layer by taking precautionary measures to control global emissions of substances which deplete it.	Seizure statistics and appropriate profile hits reviewed Oct 06. Results of prohibition and restrictions reviewed Oct 06. Seizures and profile hits reviewed October 06. Statutory instrument to cover HCFCs, under consideration by DEFRA.	Frontier controls reviewed to ensure continued protection of endangered species. Reduced availability of wood in the UK from unsustainable sources. Reduction in ozone depleting substances	Frontiers Policy         Frontiers Policy   Frontiers Policy
Provision of an estate of the right size and quality to meet business requirements	To review current estates management strategy in line with the Workforce Change Programme To review sustainable development assessments related to construction and refurbishment projects.	Environmental assessments to be developed and included in all business cases related to changes in the estate. Environmental assessments reviewed for all new projects.	All impacts on staff as a result of changes to the estate are fully considered and managed appropriately. SD criteria are fully included in estates projects.	IEstates / Workforce Change Programme         Estates
Protection of biodiversity and historic buildings protection	To protect natural habitats and promote biodiversity. To improve the condition of the historic estate	Key habitats in need of protection identified by 30 September. Estates to liaise with PFI contractors on listed buildings.	Plan for protection of key habitats produced. Implementation of Biodiversity Action Plan. Estate managed in line with English Heritage requirements.	Estates     Estates Estates
Reduction in water consumption	To reduce water consumption to 7.7m3 per person per year and 7m3 per person for all new builds. To phase out bottled water in all buildings.	Sites surveyed by consultants and all recommendations implemented by 31 October 06. Environmental Impact Assessment completed by 31 March 06.	Targets achieved.   Point of use water units replace bottled water in main sites.	Estates     Estates

 

4. Sustainable Communities

HMRC Headline Outcome	Key commitments	Milestones	Reporting / Outcomes	Lead Business area
Promotion of HMRC’s work in the community	Estate: – to take account of our impact on emissions, landscape, noise and infrastructure of local communities. HR: - i) to incorporate SD into impact assessments for all office closures; and ii) to encourage diversity, wellbeing, worklife balance, community involvement with business benefits for HMRC staff. Policy: - to develop a proactive closer working programme with marginalized customers through working in partnership with environmental, voluntary and community organisations, and to feed learning back to HMRC customer units.	Current guidance reviewed by October 06.     Examine business case guidance by 31 March 06. Ongoing.   Meetings with Business Heads to discuss pilots/ ideas.       Launch programme Oct 06	Environment assessments incorporated into new projects.   Business case guidance modified.   Business in the Community Index submitted November 06. Improved position in Top 100. Report on progress to CR Steering Group.	Estates       Workforce Change Programme HR       Business Heads and Customer Units

5. Changing behaviours

HMRC Headline Outcome	Key commitments	Milestones	Reporting / Outcomes	Lead Business area
Improved understanding and communication of sustainable development objectives.	To set up an SD Operating Committee to drive forward this Action Plan. To enhance SD communications to demonstrate HMRC’s environmental commitment.	First meeting of Steering Group May 06.   Produce communications strategy by May 06. Plan a programme of SD publicity for 06/07. Meetings with consultants and HR&L to update the e learning package – Sustain It by 30 April 06. Advice and guidance issued on incorporating SD into induction and training packages by July 06.	Paper to Ex Com. SD embedded into culture.   Communications strategy refreshed.   Sustain It updated. New internal website 31 May 06. One HMRC article 30 September 06 Environment workshop at Prince of Wales Trust Conference Support for Cross Government Working Groups.	SD Team     SD Team / Communications SD Team / HR SD Team
Sustainable development integrated within business planning.	To incorporate SD into business planning processes and guidance.	Current planning guidance reviewed and refreshed by 31 December 06	SD incorporated into business planning guidance for 07/08.	SD Team / Finance

 

Engaging staff and stakeholders

1.5 Staff and managers will be engaged in the delivery of these actions by raising awareness of key issues through articles in the in-house journal oneHMRC, intranet publicity, poster campaigns on key activities, e-learning, presentations, cascade briefing and team meetings. An abbreviated version of SDAP will be published on the intranet and the ‘top 46’ managers will be encouraged to set SD targets for their business units as part of their commitment to corporate responsibility. Sustainable development will also be integrated into induction processes and appropriate training programmes. Volunteering and awareness programmes such as Seeing is Believing will be encouraged to give staff first hand experience of SD issues. An SD strategy is being developed and SD policies will be updated to reflect the initiatives in this plan.

Top

Monitoring and reporting progress

1.6 HMRC’s SDAP contains measurable targets and outputs. The Sustainable Development team will report progress against the action plan on a quarterly basis to the Responsibility Steering Group and the Sustainable Development Operating Committee. Internal Audit will also play an important role in verifying the data outputs and ensuring that appropriate processes are in place to check and gather information as effectively as possible. PFI contractors are currently developing systems that will enable them to improve performance and also supply HMRC with good quality data. The SDAP will also be monitored independently by the Sustainable Development Commission as part of its Sustainable Development in Government report. Sustainable development achievements will be included in HMRC’s annual and spring reports. Future HMRC Sustainability Reports will be structured around reporting progress against this action plan and therefore four priority areas in Securing the Future.

Moving forward

1.7 HMRC will continue to be represented on the cross Departmental Sustainable Development Programme Board and other interdepartmental working groups that are critical to the delivery of the strategy. These committees provide the opportunity to share best practice and new ideas with other government departments and the private sector. HMRC will build on this SDAP by taking a strategic look at its SD targets for the next three to five years. It will also take a more innovative SD approach to its processes and procedures eg e-channels of communication with customers also have a major impact on paper usage, to tease out other initiatives and developments with previously unrecognised SD benefits.

Top

Annex A

Government Policy

1. The Government published Securing The Future, an updated Strategy for Sustainable Development in the UK, in March 2005. The Strategy sets out five SD principles:

• Guiding Principles (PDF 18K)
  

These principles will form a basis for sustainable development policy in the UK. For a policy to be sustainable, it must respect all five principles. We want to live within environmental limits and achieve a just society, and we will do so by means of sustainable economy, good governance, and sound science.

Shared Priorities for UK Action

The UK Strategy also outlines four priority areas for immediate action:

• Sustainable Consumption and Production;
• Climate Change and Energy;
• Natural Resource Protection and Environmental Enhancement; and
• Sustainable Communities.

The Government also recognises that changing behaviour is a cross-cutting theme closely linked to all these priorities. A copy of Securing The Future can be found at: http://www.sustainable-development.gov.uk/documents/publications/strategy/SecFut_complete.pdf

The priority areas for immediate action, shared across the UK and the HMRC links, are: -

Sustainable Consumption and Production – Sustainable consumption and production is about achieving more with less. This means not only looking at how goods and services are produced, but also the impacts of products and materials across their whole lifecycle and building on people's awareness of social and environmental concerns. This includes reducing the inefficient use of resources, which are a drag on the economy, so helping boost business competitiveness and to break the link between economic growth and environmental degradation.

Climate Change and Energy - The effects of a changing climate can already be seen. Temperatures and sea levels are rising, ice and snow cover are declining, and the consequences could be catastrophic for the natural world and society. Scientific evidence points to the release of greenhouse gases - such as carbon dioxide and methane - into the atmosphere by human activity as the primary cause of climatic change. We will seek to secure a profound change in the way we generate and use energy, and in other activities that release these gases. We must set a good example and will encourage others to follow it.

Natural Resource Protection and Environmental Enhancement - Natural resources are vital to our existence and that of communities throughout the world. We need a better understanding of environmental limits, environmental enhancement and recovery where the environment is most degraded to ensure a decent environment for everyone, and a more integrated policy framework.

Sustainable Communities - Our aim is to create sustainable communities that embody the principles of sustainable development at the local level. This will involve working to give communities more power and say in the decisions that affect them; and working in partnership at the right level to get things done. The UK uses the same principles of engagement, partnership, and programmes of aid in order to tackle poverty and environmental degradation and to ensure good governance in overseas communities.

These priorities for action within the UK will also help shape the way that our administrations work internationally. The UK government and the devolved administrations will identify issues where it would make sense to act jointly rather than separately to deliver the shared priorities. This is likely to include areas such as public awareness campaigns.