Case studies

Example of:
How the use of financial management and accounting can help improve sustainability

Key points:
• Under FBI, private sector companies retrofit government properties to make them more sustainable (energy and water efficient). 
• The private companies raise the upfront investment and are repaid by the Government from the resulting energy savings over a number of years.
• The FBI method allows for capital projects to be funded from operational budgets.

Example of:
How reporting and evaluating can help embed sustainability

Key points:

• The Metropolitan Police is collecting data on carbon footprint, waste to landfill and water/paper consumption for each borough.
• Boroughs will be able to benchmark performance which will enable them to focus action in poor performing areas.
• Carbon footprinting can be a complex exercise. The Metropolitan Police has designed a simple system based on information that they have readily available.

Example of:
How the use of financial management and accounting can help improve sustainability.

Key points:
• SFRPHI buys property from Government departments at market rates and transfers them at nominal cost to homelessness organisations.
• Government departments with property to dispose of would not accrue the wider benefits of alleviating homelessness and this is a barrier to them acting alone.
• By working at a cross-government level, SFRPHI is able to make decisions based on the wider costs and benefits of reducing homelessness.

Example of:
How developing partnerships and engaging others can help improve sustainability

Key points:

• As part of the Safer Neighbourhoods Initiative, the Metropolitan Police found that by reducing environmental crime (litter and vandalism) overall crime levels fell.
• The Metropolitan Police worked in partnership with local businesses, who benefited from the reduction in crime, to pool resources for the initiative.

Example of:

How good procurement practices can help improve sustainability

Key points:

As their contracts come up for re-tendering, the Metropolitan Police build recycling requirements into the specifications.

• The Metropolitan Police has been able to negotiate prices very close to those for similar products without environmental specifications.

Example of:

How developing partnerships and engaging others can help improve sustainability

Key points:

• As part of the Safer Neighbourhoods Initiative, the Metropolitan Police found that by reducing environmental crime (litter and vandalism) overall crime levels fell.
• The Metropolitan Police worked in partnership with local businesses, who benefited from the reduction in crime, to pool resources for the initiative.

Example of:

How changing the culture and behaviours can help embed sustainability

Key points:

• By running a marketing campaign, the Metropolitan Police countered an initial lack of staff enthusiasm when it introduced Fairtrade products into its staff restaurants.
• As a result, sales of Fairtrade products increased significantly.

Example of:
How a multi-site organisation has improved travel arrangements between sites by providing a transport solution that is not dependent upon using cars or taxis.

Key points:

• The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust has reduced expenditure on taxis by 50% and projects an annual income of £42,000 from the introduction of a bus shuttle service that enables visitors and staff to travel between the Trust’s three hospitals