Nottingham University Hospitals NHS Trust (NUH) has published its’ new ‘Green Plan’, setting out a three-year strategy to achieve net zero carbon emissions.
The new 59-page document, entitled ‘NUH Green Plan: 2022-2025,’ highlights the ‘next phase’ of the trust’s aim to become net zero by 2040 and to achieve 80% reduction of its Carbon Footprint Plus by 2045.
Split into five sections, the plan focuses on the main drivers for sustainability; strategic context in which this strategy is framed; the areas of action the strategy focuses on; managerial arrangements for monitoring the strategies’ delivery; and actions taken under the Green Plan, including any trust board updates on its implementation.
Additionally, the document identifies nine ‘areas of focus’ to aid in the achievement of the plan’s objectives, such as workforce and system leadership; sustainable models of care; digital transformation; travel and transport; estates and facilities; medicines; supply chain and procurement; food and nutrition; and adaptation.
Providing insight into the trust’s vision for the next three years in terms of its facilities and travel requirements, the document outlines a criterion of progress required to be met by 2025, which includes:
- The installation of new facilities to maximise sustainable access to the trust, which will push towards easier access to NUH services with a new established telemedicine platform
- The trust will take foundation steps to ensure the core of its supply chain has net zero carbon plans and internal projects aiming to reduce wastage of resources.
- The trust will continue connecting buildings at City Hospital to the new Low Temperature Hot Water network delivered under the City Energy Project.
On the monitoring and review of the implementation of the strategy, the document notes key actions the Trust will undertake to ensure the Green Plan succeeds in its aims. The actions include:
- NUH will continue to report its own emissions in its annual report and will report progress through an annual review. Also, NUH will expand the scope of its reporting to include areas such as travel, transport and supplier emissions as accurate data becomes available.
- The monitoring of the strategy’s action plan will be reported to the Management Board on a quarterly basis.
- Additionally, NUH must complete quarterly reports to NHSEI on progress against Green Plan actions.
- The NUH Trust Board will approve and, thereafter, review annually the progress of the Action Plan.
- Works and reporting will be coordinated by the Green Plan Group which will prepare an annual report to Management Board for approval by Trust Board.
Andrew Chatten, Director of Estates and Facilities Management and nominated Lead for the Green Plan, said of the new sustainability plan: “We are committed to doing everything possible to reduce our carbon footprint. The NUH Green Plan 2022-2025 reflects the need to take action now and if we succeed in delivering the objectives in this plan, we will be able to reduce seen an 80% reduction in our carbon footprint by 2032.
“Through our involvement with the Nottingham Green Partnership we know Nottingham is leading the rest of the country and we are proud to be contributing to that effort. Our plans will not just be better for the planet but will also help the Trust save money in the long term and will also help improve the quality of life for patients and staff.”
To read the document in full, please click here.
