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A Six-Episode Journey into Defence Sustainability The Defence Infrastructure Organisation has launched an enlightening six-episode podcast series that takes listeners behind the scenes of sustainability efforts across the UK's vast Defence Estate. This engaging audio series features conversations with senior military figures, project leaders and industrial partners who are tackling environmental challenges head-on. From strategic planning to on-the-ground implementation, each episode offers unique insights into how Defence is integrating sustainability into its core mission. Listeners will discover not just the challenges faced, but the innovative solutions being deployed across this immense portfolio. Why This Podcast Matters The first episode is available now, with subsequent instalments being added to the playlist upon release. This podcast series breaks through traditional communication barriers, ensuring that vital sustainability messages reach beyond formal channels to inform and inspire action across the Defence community and beyond. The Scale of the Challenge The Defence Estate is vast—occupying over 1% of the United Kingdom's landmass. This enormous scale presents unique sustainability challenges that require equally ambitious solutions. While many might assume environmental considerations would be secondary to Defence operations, today's reality shows a fundamental shift in priorities. Sustainability has become essential to maintaining operational capability in a changing climate. Consider a practical example: water scarcity could severely restrict military training capacity at key sites, directly impacting readiness. This isn't a distant concern—it's a present challenge requiring immediate attention. Sustainability in Action The Ministry of Defence is responding with remarkable innovation. The award-winning Net-Zero Carbon Accommodation Programme is revolutionising living quarters while reducing carbon emissions. Simultaneously, infrastructure initiatives such as standardised electric vehicle charging points being deployed across Defence facilities. These initiatives demonstrate how the MOD has elevated sustainability to stand alongside security and health & safety as strategic priorities—without compromising its primary mission of protecting national security. A Resource for Civil Servants For members of the Civil Service Climate Change + Environment Network (CSCCEN), this podcast offers valuable perspectives even if you rarely encounter Defence property. The series showcases how Defence personnel—both service members and civil servants — are applying their expertise to sustainability challenges that mirror those faced across government. Their innovative approaches provide potential models for environmental initiatives in other departments, making this podcast series a valuable resource for all civil servants interested in sustainability. Tune in to discover how one of Britain's largest landowners is pioneering sustainable practices while maintaining its critical mission of national security. The first episode is available here: Episode 1: The big picture with Major General Andy Sturrock To stay updated on new episodes, follow the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on social media: Instagram X (Twitter) LinkedIn

Given this month’s focus on “weather vs. climate”, CSCEN's Emilio Risoli and Rebecca Sawyer (CSCEN committee member and Met Office climate scientist) take us through how the Met Office provide both weather and climate information to inform policy and decision making across government and beyond. The Met Office, Exeter - © Crown Copyright The Met Office is probably best known for its weather forecasts. You might have seen its name alongside weather warnings, and perhaps you assumed that weather  was the extent of its brief. However, as the UK’s national meteorological service, the Met Office has another significant strand of work: the climate . The weather and climate are different terms used to describe different things. Put simply, the climate " describes the average weather conditions over a long period of time " usually over 20-30 years. While the weather tells you what you should wear on a particular day, the climate determines the clothes you have in your wardrobe. But modelling the climate is a different pursuit to weather forecasting, and it serves a range of very different purposes. The weather The Met Office is the UK’s national weather service. It is primarily funded by UK Government and at the core of its operation is the Public Weather Service (PWS). The PWS provides a reliable public forecast for all UK citizens, and includes the issuing of severe weather warnings. Alongside this, the Met Office delivers specialist forecasts and advice to the UK defence sector, weather information for the aviation sector, and a range of global weather services to clients across industry, academia, the media and more. The “Unified Model” – which has been used by the Met Office since 1990 – is used to predict the weather in a certain area across a range of timescales. This model is therefore used for both weather forecasting (a few days) and climate modelling (up to hundreds of years). The supercomputer currently used to do this, the Cray XC40 , is one of the most powerful of its kind in the world, and is capable of (an inconceivable) 14,000 trillion arithmetic operations each second. This allows the Met Office to obtain 215 billion weather observations from all over the world every day. If you assumed that this was all done by computers, however, you’d be wrong. Central to the provision of weather forecasts are the Met Office’s meteorologists. While computer models provide an initial indication of forecasted weather patterns and conditions, it is the meteorologists who assess and compare this information with real-world observations, including the scale and progress of weather systems,  to ensure that the forecast provided to end-users is as accurate as possible. For example, a huge part of a meteorologist’s role is around predicting how people respond and behave before and during a severe weather event. This informs the timing, scale and level of the weather warnings that are issued. Meteorologists work closely with civil contingency advisors, emergency responders and local authorities to coordinate warnings to ensure they keep people as safe as possible. Weather forecasting: more than just daily wardrobe decisions The Met Office provides weather services to a broad range of customers. In transport alone, its forecasts and insights support pilots, airlines and airports, train and freight operators, the Marine and Coastguard Agency and National Highways, to name just a few. As a more specific example, its specialist forecasts are used by rail operators to run their services safely and on time. If you’ve ever wondered why your train is delayed on a windy day, there’s a good chance that it’s to do with leaf-fall on the track. When trains pass over these leaves, they form a slippery layer on the track, equivalent to black ice on the roads. To combat this, the Met Office provide rail operators with specialist forecasts that include estimates of leaf-fall and highlight locations needing more attention. Alongside this data, the Met Office provide a team of experienced rail consultants, who advise operators with solutions for specific weather hazard vulnerabilities. And this goes beyond leaves: these consultants help operators address a range of weather-related challenges to improve network efficiency. Source: Network Rail Climate in the Met Office Scientists in the Met Office use a combination of observations and climate models to look at overall weather trends over ‘climatological’ periods of 10-30 years. As Carbon Brief explain, “ in many ways, climate modelling is just an extension of weather forecasting, but focusing on changes over decades rather than hours ”. The climate models provide us with the opportunity to test assumptions and scenarios which would not be possible to observe in the ‘real world’. By varying the starting conditions of these models (i.e. the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the temperature, land use and cover) we can see how the climate responds in different situations. This helps inform the speed and scale of policy interventions needed to reduce average global temperate rise. The Met Office Hadley Centre Climate Programme (MOHCCP) undertakes scientifically excellent climate research and provides policy-relevant scientific evidence and advice to Government. The programme helps to ensure that both environment and energy policies are grounded in the latest scientific evidence. The MOHCCP supports policy work across DESNZ, Defra, the FCDO and many other government departments. Case study: Using climate data to assess the risk posed by wind-driven rain to British buildings A good way to display how the Met Office’s climate data can be interpreted, and used to inform policy, is through a case study of a project funded by the MOHCCP. Last year, the Met Office worked with DESNZ to understand the risk of damage to cavity wall insulation from wind-driven rain , and how climate change might impact this. Cavity wall insulation is a common retrofit measure, and plays a key role in both decarbonising buildings and reducing energy bills for consumers. When rain drops vertically, this fabric remains largely sheltered. However, wind-driven rain can lead to water entering the cavity (via roofs, walls, windows, doors etc.) and damaging the building fabric. This not only leads to losses in thermal insulation (making the house colder), but it also causes damp and mould, creating unhealthy conditions for occupants. For this reason, the Building Regulations state that this type of insulation should be avoided in locations with high exposure to wind driven rain. However, the dataset used to identify at-risk locations is based on evidence recorded between 1959 and 1991. This created a significant knowledge gap: an understanding of the buildings which were not currently exposed to wind driven rain, but might be in the future as the climate changes. This DESNZ-Met Office project created an updated wind-driven rain dataset using high-resolution climate modelling. The study used the latest UK Climate Projections (UKCP18) to model changes in projected wind-driven rain for 2°C and 4°C warming scenarios (relative to the pre-industrial period). It found that while on average wind-driven rain is not expected to change significantly, it will become more concentrated in southerly and westerly parts of the UK. Moreover, it is projected to become more concentrated in winter months. © Crown Copyright Conclusion The work on wind-driven rain is now being used to inform updates to retrofit guidance and building regulations. It is just one example of how the Met Office uses climate modelling to inform policy and decision making, and its specificity illustrates just how varied the uses of climate modelling can be. A recent evaluation concluded that for every £1 of public money invested, the Met Office returns £18.80 in value . Its value to the taxpayer in supporting decision-making with high-level weather and climate data and expertise, especially in a world grappling with climate change, is clear. Next time your train is on time, or your retrofitted home doesn’t have damp on the walls, thank the Met Office. Contribute to the CSCEN Blog If you're interested in contributing to the CSCEN Blog, get in touch with us at environment.network@energysecurity.gov.uk . We'd love to hear your ideas!

In 2021, the Environment Act enshrined 13 legally binding environmental targets into law. Defra is revising the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP) to deliver these targets. CSCEN's Cara Burke, formerly of Defra’s EIP team, unpacks what a revised EIP for England would tackle, and how the Environment Act 2021 directs environmental action on a national level. Source: Environmental Improvement Plan 2023 What is the Environment Act 2021? The Environment Act responded to a clear case, and growing public demand, for action to address environmental challenges. It set a new domestic framework for environmental governance after the UK left the EU and set a path to achieving long-term action necessary for nature to recover through legally binding targets, an environmental watchdog and by placing environmental principles in domestic law in a consistent and transparent way. What is an Environmental Improvement Plan? On 30 July 2024, the Government announced a rapid review of the Environmental Improvement Plan (EIP). The rapid review has now been undertaken , and forms a vital stage of information collection as part of a wider, statutory review which will be completed when the revised EIP is published in 2025. The plan will focus on delivering the Environment Act’s legally binding environmental targets to save nature. It will be a statutory plan to protect and restore the natural environment. The Environment Act 2021 requires that Defra’s Secretary of State prepares an EIP for significantly improving the natural environment in England. An EIP must have a minimum duration of 15 years to ensure that governments consider the needs of the natural environment over the longer term. The government must review its EIP at least every five years and the review will consider what has been done to implement the current EIP since publication, whether the natural environment has improved during that period, and whether further steps are needed to improve the natural environment. The 25 Year Environment Plan (25YEP) was published in 2018 and was designated as the first EIP. It set out a comprehensive and long-term approach to protecting and enhancing the natural environment for the next generation through 10 goals. The latest EIP was published in January 2023 (EIP23). Under the Act, the Secretary of State must also prepare annual progress reports  to report on implementation of the EIP and report progress towards the EIP. Alongside the annual progress report, the  Outcome Indicator Framework data dashboard  shows how the environment is changing in relation to the 10 goals of the 25 Year Environment Plan. What are Environment Act targets? The Environment Act 2021 required government to set legally binding environmental targets. Following public consultation, all 13 environmental targets were in force by 31 January 2023 . The 13 targets cover air quality, water, biodiversity, resource efficiency and waste reduction, tree and woodland cover, and Marine Protected Areas. The revised EIP will focus on delivering these targets. Interim targets set the trajectory towards long-term targets and allow for an ongoing assessment of whether government is on track to meet them. When reviewing the EIP, the government must set new interim targets, and consider, given the progress made to date, what further measures are needed to achieve the interim and long-term targets. Environmental Principles and other Government Departments The environment is not solely Defra’s remit, and every government department has a role to play in protecting and restoring the natural environment. The Environment Act 2021 places a legal duty on Ministers of the Crown to have “due regard” to the environmental principles policy statement when making policy. The environmental principles policy statement  was published on 31 January 2023 and explains how Ministers of the Crown should interpret and proportionately apply the five environmental principles, as required by the Environment Act 2021. The five principles set out in the Act are: integration, prevention, rectification at source, polluter pays, and the precautionary principle. The Office for Environmental Protection’s latest progress report (see below) recommends that implementation of the environment principles duty is directly linked to statutory targets and delivery plans. The Office for Environmental Protection The Environment Act established the Office for Environmental Protection (OEP) to protect and improve the environment by holding government and other public authorities to account. Its work covers England, Northern Ireland and UK reserved matters. The Act sets out the OEP’s powers and duties, which can be split into four functions. These are: monitoring progress in delivering environmental improvement plans and targets monitoring implementation of environmental law advising Ministers on changes to environmental law; and enforcing against failures to comply with environmental law through investigations and, only where strictly necessary, legal proceedings (Environmental Review or, in exceptional cases, Judicial Review). The OEP publish their own EIP annual progress report 6 months after Defra’s. Future of the EIP When the EIP rapid review completed, Defra’s Secretary of State provided an Interim statement on the EIP rapid review - GOV.UK  . This indicated that the the revised EIP will be published in 2025, and will aim to: be clear on the role of cross cutting enablers for environmental delivery across government and wider society and how actions interface as part of a system to improve the natural environment highlight how protecting and enhancing our natural capital is not just for its own sake but supports wider societal outcomes including the Government’s missions for clean energy and growth clarify Environment Act target delivery plans and update their corresponding interim targets to cover the 5-year period from completion of the review, in line with statutory requirements clarify how the EIP will be delivered, including the role of government departments and bodies, environmental NGOs, businesses, farmers, landowners/managers, local government and the public streamline and prioritise non statutory commitments to make sure that the EIP focuses on key actions that result in meaningful delivery towards environmental improvement, contributing to statutory targets and priority outcomes. Contribute to the CSCEN Blog If you're interested in contributing to the CSCEN Blog, get in touch with us at environment.network@energysecurity.gov.uk . We'd love to hear your ideas!

We represent a group of civil servants from a wide variety of backgrounds. Our mission is to build climate and environment knowledge and policy capability across the Civil Service. Careers in Weather and Climate - Katrina Macneill, Climate Science Communicator and Strategic Stakeholder Relations Tue, 08 Apr Microsoft Teams More info Register CSCEN Discussion Group: What's the weather like in space and how is climate change impacting it? Tue, 22 Apr Microsoft Teams More info Register CSCEN April Talk: Weather vs Climate Wed, 30 Apr Microsoft Teams More info Register About Upcoming Events Podcasts The Met Office: Behind the UK’s Weather and Climate Decision Making CSCEN's Emilio Risoli and Rebecca Sawyer take us through how the Met Office provide both weather and climate information to inform policy. Emilio Risoli Mar 28 5 min read Enshrined in law: How the Environmental Improvement Plan sets out the UK’s plan to deliver legally binding environmental targets In 2021, the Environment Act enshrined 13 legally binding environmental targets into law. Defra is revising the Environmental Improvement... Cara Burke Feb 25 4 min read Introducing... the Delivering Greener Transport team In our latest guest article, the Delivering Greener Transport team in the Department for Transport outline their priorities, recent... Alex Hughes Feb 10 3 min read Get involved Join us and subscribe Follow us on LinkedIn

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