COP26: Building a more sustainable future for HMRC

Alex Hilton, Head of Sustainability for HMRC, attended COP26 on behalf of the department last week. In this article he writes about the work HMRC is doing to achieve Net Zero by 2040 and his experience of attending the conference.?

Last?week I?was?in Glasgow at COP26, as?world leaders debated?how we can accelerate actions to keep?1.5 degree?Celsius global warming within reach?and halt the climate emergency.?

Whilst?there I met with some of my counterparts in?HMRC’s?major suppliers.?We have had engaging and exciting discussions about how they can support us to achieve HMRC's Net Zero by 2040 ambition through their efforts, and how we can share expertise?and insight more widely.?

Our supply chain is just one area that HMRC is focussing on?– across the department we?have?achieved year-on-year emissions reductions against the Greening Government Commitments for last decade, but we know this?has not been?enough to?reverse the?crisis?so far.?

Being at COP,?I am not only inspired to stretch and?accelerate our environmental ambition, but also to reflect on?our successes so far,?and?not just?on carbon reduction.??

• Establishing Tax Facts –?the UK’s leading?tax education programme for young people.?
• Nurturing?impactful?volunteering partnerships,?including 27 years with The Prince’s Trust?supporting young people?into work.
• Delivering?a?low carbon?estates renewal programme, which?continues to push what is possible.
• Establishing?a Green Network?across all corners of the Union.
• Forming?the first cross-government Net Zero working group?sharing our knowledge and expertise.

To top it off,?our staff?have?raised?￡1m?this year?for 800+ charities ?and?have?dedicated?more than?50,000 days of employee volunteering since 2009, sharing their expertise and building their skills to better support HMRC?delivery.?

My takeaway?from my?week?at COP26?is that while there are questions as to whether COP26 will deliver on its aims,?there?are?a wealth of people from across corporate, governmental?and?civil society?sectors?who are committed to?reversing the climate?crisis and?building a resilient?economy where no one is left behind.??

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