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Hosptital Trusts on drive to reduce carbon emissions

Representatives from Cornwall Partnership Trust, Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust and Cornwall & Isles of Scilly Primary Care Trust travelled to London recently by bio ethanol car for the launch of the Carbon Trust’s national NHS Carbon Club scheme. All three Trusts have been jointly accepted onto the Carbon Club scheme. Only fifteen places were available nationally for this 10 month, consultant supported programme aimed at developing organisation wide strategies to embed carbon emission reduction into the day to day processes of organisations.
Lezli Boswell, Chief Executive of the Cornwall Partnership Trust said “I am delighted the three local NHS Trusts have been accepted onto this national programme. In line with most of the public sector we recognise the challenges ahead in reducing our carbon footprint, however I believe the initial steps we have made by increasing the insulation on our estates and utilising video conferencing facilities will provide us with a solid foundation from which to move forward and will help us refine the way we work for the 21st century”.

Sharon Terry, Director of Nursing and Therapies at the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust added “As one of the biggest consumers in Cornwall, we have a key role to play in reducing energy, water use and waste to minimise our impact on the environment. As well as looking longer-term at large scale renewable energy sources, we can also make a difference as individuals. With thousands of employees who can contribute at work and at home, even the simplest measures to save power and reduce waste can take us a significant way forward in reducing our carbon footprint.” The implications of burning fossil fuels and dealing with the waste products we generate as a society have the potential to impact on the public health of the community.

The effect on peoples’ health as a result of climate change is likely to be substantial. It is important organisations recognise this and, where possible, adapt their working practices accordingly. A conventional return car journey to London generates around 300kg of carbon dioxide, SAAB have kindly offered the use of their bioethanol vehicle to make this journey and we are interested to establish how this compares. Unlike petrol, bio ethanol does not raise atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide.

This is because the emissions that are released during driving are cancelled out by the amount of CO2 that is removed from the atmosphere when crops are gown for conversion. In addition, the Trusts intend to calculate and rebalance the whole carbon footprint for this journey and meeting and will be planting trees on the NHS Estate each of which will absorb around 750 kg of CO2 during its lifetime. Antek Lejk, Director of Community and Primary Care Services for the Primary Care Trust said “By being accepted as members of the Carbon Club, the three local NHS organisations have reinforced their commitment, as set out within the Strategic Framework - A Healthy Future for Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly; to reduce their carbon footprint, to help both the environment, and the future health of the population and to reduce energy costs so that more resources can be concentrated on clinical and preventative services.” The Chief Executives of all three NHS Trusts have also recently signed the Make a World of Difference Pledge which also supports the reduction of the organisations’ impact on the environment.

The Carbon Trust initiative covers a broad range of areas and is designed to look at carbon emissions associated with a number of areas including energy, waste and transport. As well as a 'benchmarking' to establish where the Trust currently are, the 10 month supported programme will identify opportunities and plan their implementation. This is the second year of the programme.