Agenda item

This report evaluates the current email and document storage, carbon and costs footprints of BCP Councils use of Microsoft 365.

The primary reason for bringing this report is to address the scrutiny request to “establish the current data use and retention polices of the council, and whether there is scope for reduction of the environmental and financial impact of those policies”.

The report outlines three options for consideration: reducing how much data the Council retains in its compliance libraries, transitioning to alternative cloud or on-premises solutions, and completing activity to profile users to enable potential re-mapping to lower costs licence types.

The Portfolio Holder for Transformation, Resources and Governance and the Service Director for IT & Programmes presented a report, a copy of which had been circulated to each Member and a copy of which appears as Appendix 'B' to these Minutes in the Minute Book.

This report evaluated the then-current email and document storage, carbon, and cost footprints of BCP Council’s use of Microsoft 365.

The primary reason for bringing the report had been to address the scrutiny request to “establish the current data use and retention policies of the council, and whether there was scope for reduction of the environmental and financial impact of those policies.”

The report outlined three options for consideration: reducing how much data the Council retained in its compliance libraries, transitioning to alternative cloud or on-premises solutions, and completing activity to profile users to enable potential re-mapping to lower-cost licence types.

The Committee discussed the report and responses to queries were provided, including:

• The Committee was advised that email signatures and image-heavy communications contribute significantly to data storage and energy usage, and that Microsoft Teams offers a more efficient alternative for collaboration.
• In response to a query raised regarding the environmental impact of Microsoft 365, the Committee was advised that the average footprint equates to approximately 190g CO? per user per month, roughly equivalent to driving half a mile in a car.
• The Committee was advised that Microsoft 365 is a more cost-effective and resilient solution compared to on-premises infrastructure, particularly in terms of remote access, data recovery, and energy efficiency.
• In response to a query raised regarding AI usage, the Committee was advised that increased AI adoption may offset any gains made through reduced email storage and confirmed that governance and monitoring mechanisms are being established to track environmental impacts.
• The Committee was advised that Microsoft licences can be tailored to individual usage levels, and that licence optimisation is being progressed through the Data and Innovation Programme.
• In response to a query raised regarding dormant accounts and data retention, the Committee was advised that accounts are reviewed regularly and deleted following a grace period, with managers given access to retrieve any necessary data. Deleted data is retained for up to five years in a preservation hold library, depending on the last edit date.
• The Committee was advised that Teams chat history is stored within the Exchange mailbox and subject to the same retention policies as email data.
• The Committee was advised that over 500 digital champions are embedded across the organisation to support the adoption of Microsoft 365 tools and promote efficient digital working practices.
• The Committee was advised that the carbon footprint data used in the report is available via Power BI and has been shared with the Sustainability Team for future monitoring and reporting.
• Officers agreed that the online dashboard would be shared with the Committee. ACTION

It is RECOMMENDED to cabinet that:

as per Option (B), the Committee supports the continuation of activity already underway, as part of the Councils Data and Innovation Programme, to re-assess and profile Microsoft 365 end-user licensing requirements, moving colleagues to lower-costs licenses where appropriate.

Voting: unanimous