DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
News Release issued by COI News Distribution Service. 27 January 2009
The NHS will today
pledge to become one of England's leading sustainable and low
carbon organisations and to meet the Government's target of
an 80 per cent reduction in carbon emissions by 2050.
This pledge is set out in a new Strategy, Saving Carbon,
Improving Health, which will be launched by NHS Chief Executive,
David Nicholson, and NHS Sustainable Development Unit Director, Dr
David Pencheon.
The NHS has a carbon footprint of 18 million tonnes of CO2 per
year - 3.2 per cent of carbon emissions and 25 per cent of public
sector emissions in England. As part of the Strategy, NHS
organisations are committing to reducing their carbon footprint.
It will be for each organisation to determine how it does so and
set its own targets if need be using the guidance from the
Strategy. The NHS has set itself an ambition of achieving a 10 per
cent reduction in its 2007 carbon footprint by 2015. This will
require the current level of growth of emissions to not only be
curbed, but the trend to be reversed and absolute emissions reduced.
Speaking at the launch ceremony at St Thomas' Hospital in
London, David Nicholson will say:
"As the biggest public sector employer in the country, the
NHS needs to lead by example. I want to encourage NHS staff to
really get involved and do their bit to create a greener NHS.
"I want to thank our partners who have signed up to support
us to become a leading low carbon organisation. It is by working
hard both within NHS trusts and with our partners that we can make
the biggest impact on our carbon footprint."
Dr David Pencheon, Director of the NHS Sustainable Development
Unit will say:
"The NHS is an internationally renowned health service,
Europe's largest employer and a leader in local communities
across the country. By leading by example the NHS can help
mitigate climate change and improve our health tomorrow, as well
as today.
"Carbon reduction is something that needs to extend to every
part of the organisation. Everyone who works for the NHS should be
thinking about reducing their carbon footprint as part of their
day job." The strategy will ensure that the NHS will achieve
an enormous cut in carbon emissions ensuring it is leading low
carbon and sustainable organisation and meets the Climate Change
Act requirements.
-End-
Notes to editors
1. Key recommendations in the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy call
for NHS organisations to:
* Establish a Board approved Sustainable Development Management Plan
* Sign up to the Good Corporate Citizenship Assessment Model (see
http://www.corporatecitizen.nhs.uk)
* Monitor and report on carbon
* Actively promote carbon awareness at every level of the
organisation. The strategy also provides guidance and actions on:
energy and carbon management; procurement; travel and transport;
water; waste; designing the built environment; organisational and
workforce development; role of partnership and networks; and
governance. To see all of the recommendations, download the
strategy from http://www.sdu.nhs.uk.
2. The audio from the launch will be broadcast live, through BT
conferencing. To listen in, register at
https://cossprereg.btci.com/prereg/key.process?key=PR9D6MWXC. Once
you have registered, you will be provided with the information you
need to join the conference, including dial-in numbers and passcodes.
3. Saving Carbon, Improving Health, the NHS Carbon Reduction
Strategy will be available to download from the NHS SDU website
(http://www.sdu.nhs.uk) from
27 January.
4. The NHS Sustainable Development Unit (NHS SDU) was established
on 1 April 2008, by the NHS in England under the auspices of the
Office of the Strategic Health Authorities (OSHA). The NHS SDU
develops organisations, people, tools, policy, and research to
help the NHS in England fulfil its potential as a leading
sustainable and low carbon organisation. It is led by Dr David
Pencheon, Director NHS SDU, and is overseen by the 10 Strategic
Health Authority Chief Executives. The unit is hosted by the
Strategic Health Authority in the east of England and its Chief
Executive, Sir Neil McKay and Regional Director of Public Health,
Dr Paul Cosford.
http://www.ndu.nhs.uk