The Scottish Government is taking action to improve its environmental performance as it pledges to lead by example.

The organisation's Annual Environmental Report 2008/09 is published today, summarising the Scottish Government's performance against its environmental targets.

The report covers the 12 months to March 2009. Since then, in the six months to December 2009, the organisation has delivered a considerable reduction in travel costs compared to the previous six months: the total cost of air travel reduced by 24 per cent; the total cost of rail travel reduced by 27 per cent.

The main findings include:

* two per cent less waste produced than in the previous year;

* high levels of recycling;

* a small decrease in business travel emissions; and

* a nine per cent drop in air travel and a six per cent increase in rail travel.

The Scottish Government has adopted the most challenging carbon reduction targets in the world. The Scottish Government is taking action through its wider Carbon Management Plan which identifies 14 projects to reduce the CO2 emissions from energy use in its buildings - an issue highlighted in the report.

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Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment Richard Lochhead said: "One of the priorities of the Scottish Government is to create a Greener Scotland. So as an organisation, we have to take a lead and demonstrate sustainable government in action. We have stepped up our efforts since the period covered by the report and also delivered a considerable reduction in our travel costs - but we are determined to do more.

"The report's findings highlight where we are making progress, for example, in producing less waste going to landfill and maintaining high recycling levels. We have quite rightly set ourselves ambitious targets - but we will be judged on our actions. And as the report identifies, there are areas where we can, and must, do better.

"We are taking action to speed up the progress we are making. Since the reporting year, we have published our Carbon Management Plan - a framework to drive down our carbon footprint, through a range of projects. This includes action to make our buildings more energy efficient, thereby tackling one of our key challenges."

Permanent Secretary Sir John Elvidge added: "As an organisation, we are targeting all the activities which impact on our environmental performance. The changing landscape - signalled by international developments and our own world-leading Climate Change (Scotland) Act - demands ever-increasing, effective action on reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

"While I am confident we can deliver improvements through our Carbon Management Programme, we have to go further in embedding sustainable everyday working practices. We have already made great strides in reducing our travel costs - but we need to continue this progress to do even better.

"This has to be done at both an organisational and individual level. I am committed to ensuring we deliver on this critically important agenda. By getting our own house in order, we can become a leader in environmental performance in the public sector."

(GK)