The Carbon Neutral Public Sector
- 20 August 2009
- journal article
- conference paper
- Published by Informa UK Limited in Public Management Review
- Vol. 11 (5), 575-600
- https://doi.org/10.1080/14719030902798263
Abstract
This paper argues for research into the effectiveness of government strategies for a ‘carbon neutral public sector’. We review initiatives in three OECD countries: New Zealand, Australia and the UK. In all jurisdictions, government agencies have consistently stressed ‘leading by example’ as a rationale for adoption. ‘Direct mandate’ by the Prime Minister (NZ); ‘organic development’ from wider central government sustainability initiatives (UK); and a more ‘laissez faire’ approach by Australian Federal and State Governments, were identified as the general pathways leading to implementation. Our assessment indicates: a lack of understanding of the implementation process for carbon neutrality; a need to identify and critically examine the ‘offset threshold’ at which mitigation efforts cease and offsetting is adopted; an absence of any evaluation of the ‘leading by example’ rationale; a lack of inter-country comparisons; a gap in understanding the relationship with economic and social aspects of sustainability; and a need to evaluate the utility of core government departments as the focus of carbon accounting. We urge colleagues to consider research in this area with a view to contributing to the interdisciplinary solutions which we believe are required.Keywords
This publication has 28 references indexed in Scilit:
- WORDS OF ACTION: THE CENTRIST AND PRAGMATIC DISCOURSE OF SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT REPORTING.Academy of Management Proceedings, 2008
- Environmental management system adoption by government departments/agenciesInternational Journal of Public Sector Management, 2008
- THE NPM AGENDA: BACK TO THE FUTUREFinancial Accountability & Management, 2008
- Optimism and Hope in a Hotter TimeConservation Biology, 2007
- Commodifying the atmosphere: ‘pennies from heaven’?Geografiska Annaler: Series A, Physical Geography, 2007
- Social acceptance of carbon dioxide storageEnergy Policy, 2007
- Planting Trees to Mitigate Climate Change: Contested Discourses of Ecological Modernization, Green Governmentality and Civic EnvironmentalismGlobal Environmental Politics, 2006
- The progress of English and Welsh local authorities in addressing climate changeLocal Environment, 2004
- Corporate Greening as AmoralizationOrganization Studies, 2000
- The Role of Local Authority Accountants in Environmental Decision‐MakingFinancial Accountability & Management, 1998