BS: ECB Piles Up Paper as Euro Crisis Fight Comes Before Environment
As the European Central Bank battled to save the euro-area economy last year, Mother Nature paid part of the cost.
The Frankfurt-based ECB missed self-imposed targets for lower paper and energy use and shrinking its carbon footprint, according to its environmental statement published today. The reason? The soaring number of employees called in to deal with the effects of the sovereign debt crisis and preparations to start overseeing the region’s banks.
“Increased business activity, owing to the financial crisis, required more energy to be consumed in order to provide comfortable working conditions for staff,” according to the report. Higher paper use was justified by the workload and the establishment of the Single Supervisory Mechanism.
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“The organization has faced numerous challenges to its core business,” ECB Vice President Vitor Constancio said. “The engagement of our staff will be crucial in order to fulfill our responsibilities in terms of sustainability and in order to minimize our environmental impact.”
The ECB planned to cut paper use by 15 percent last year compared with 2011. Instead, it rose by 0.7 percent, or more than 130,000 printed sheets. Carbon dioxide emissions gained 2.1 percent, compared with a targeted decline of 10 percent.
The weather didn’t help. Energy consumption for heating and cooling climbed partly because of the “long and energy-intensive winter of 2012 to 2013.”
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In its defense, the ECB said staffing rose 18 percent to 2,655 employees in 2013 from 2011. Taking that into account, consumption of electrical energy per workplace slid 14 percent and office paper use fell “five sheets per workplace per day.”
Next year may be no easier. While the ECB plans to cut office paper consumption by 5 percent per workplace, and keep carbon emissions and energy efficiency at 2013 levels, it also nodded at its expanded responsibilities. The SSM now has about 900 staff and formally started its role last month.
“Risks lie in the unknown requirements of SSM,” the ECB said. “It is expected that business travel will increase substantially.”
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To contact the reporter on this story: Fergal O’Brien in London at fobrien@bloomberg.net
To contact the editors responsible for this story: Fergal O’Brien at fobrien@bloomberg.net Paul Gordon, Eddie Buckle
