UK retailers to play a key role in government plan to cut emissions

After the easyCouncil and John Lewis local authority, comes the Marks & Spencer ministry. The high-street giant, along with Tesco, B&Q owners Kingfisher and HSBC, has been asked to advise national government on saving money.

The companies have been given a special role in helping ministers meet their pledge to cut energy use across government by 10% in their first year in office. The pledge was one of the very first promises of the new coalition and was announced against a backdrop of banners for the 10:10 climate change campaign, which is supported by the Guardian. The initiative is "inspired by 10:10".

Under the guidance of the high-street stalwarts, departments are embarking on a range of measures, to be outlined today, from the straightforward-but-important business of installing motion sensors so lights go out when offices are empty (or ministers sit still for too long), to inter-department competitions and pep talks by inspirational speakers to persuade staff to do their bit by boiling less water or taking the stairs instead of the lift.

Although primarily seen as a green policy, led by one of the two environmental departments, the financial savings arethe focus, said Greg Barker, the Conservative climate minister.

"If you get them by the finances, the hearts and minds will follow," Barker told the Guardian.

"There's an absolute imperative in making sure these savings come from energy bills and [not] from elsewhere; so that really focuses minds," added Barker, referring to tough budget cuts to be announced this autumn. "Also if they can cut this there will be more money for frontline services."

Longer term, reductions would continue and eventually departments could cut energy use so low that government could generate more power than it uses from renewable sources on its land and buildings, said Barker. "Ultimately my ambition is [for] government to become a net exporter of energy," he said, citing the possibility of electricity from wind turbines or solar panels and heat from biogas and biomass.

On only his third day in the job the prime minister, David Cameron, walked the 350 yards from 10 Downing Street to the Department for Energy and Climate Change in Whitehall Place to announce the 10% target, and declared his government would be the "greenest ever".

Following the announcement, a cross-government committee was set up to oversee the new goal. As well as 19 central departments, Marks & Spencer, Tesco, Kingfisher, HSBC and EDF Energy have also been given seats.

Perhaps the most important lesson from M&S famous for its Plan A campaign: "because there is no Plan B" has been the importance of ongoing leadership from the top, said Barker.

"It's not enough to just have a campaign, it has to be constantly lead from the top, and has to be continued, month in and month out," said Barker, citing the PM's involvement, and the decision to give the Treasury joint ownership of the 10% target.

Department facilities managers were also summoned to a briefing with Barker and Francis Maude, minister for the Cabinet Office and paymaster general, at which they were told "you are responsible for delivering a key promise by the prime minister."

"There were all sorts of special pleading and requests for opt-outs, we had to be ruthless," added Barker.

The other high-street names are more closely involved in advising on practical measures to cut last year's 700,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, often continuing work started by the previous Labour administration, under which DECC and five other departments plus 10 Downing Street had already signed the 10:10 pledge to cut emissions 10% in 2010.

All departments and directly-controlled executive agencies like job centres - but not the NHS, for example - have targets to reduce energy use and so greenhouse gas emissions at least 10%. Energy prices are hard to forecast, but a 10% reduction on last year's combined bills would save 30m.

With the combined cost of heating and lighting being 71% of gas and electricity use, most of the focus is on these areas so far, including fitting lower-energy use LED bulbs, motion sensors in offices and washrooms to turn lights off when they are empty, and adjusting heating and temperature controls. In DECC, for example, the gap between when the heating goes off and cooling comes on has been widened from 21-23C to 20-24C, and engineers are now considering raising the upper limit by another 1C, while hot water boilers are now turned off at 3pm, rather than previously 7pm-8pm.

They other main area of focus is staff behaviour change. In DECC, as well as stickers showing people the stairs as a reminder not to use the lift unnecessarily, staff get regular briefings about energy saving and talks from outside speakers such as celebrity sociologist and Third Way pioneer Anthony Giddens, and Science Museum director Chris Rapley, while a competition to cut energy use is about to be launched between different floors.