The healthcare sector is a major contributor to the UK’s carbon footprint, with the NHS alone creating around 4-5% of the country’s carbon emissions. As a result, science-based Net Zero targets are informing UK energy policymaking and driving the thinking behind organisational climate target setting.
Given public support, political and scientific consensus on the need to achieve Net Zero by 2050, it makes commercial and social sense for organisations to develop and implement high-integrity decarbonisation strategies. Without effective action, climate change will, crucially, have profound implications for the health and wellbeing of the UK’s population; the smooth delivery of our health and social care services; and the management of critical infrastructure.
In this presentation, we will review the ways in which investing in sustainability will improve capability, capacity and efficiency across healthcare estates:
• Ageing and inefficient energy estates cause wastage. Avoidable spending can be eliminated in order to enable more investment in improving patient healthcare. Focusing on sustainability can improve operational efficiency, reduce energy costs and meet regulation requirements.
• More time and money can be invested in staff, equipment and machines. As a result, more resources will be available for locum staff and the budget for staff satisfaction, lifting the pressure and strain on the workforce. Estates could also purchase automated equipment to ensure the efficiency of operations.
• A modern, compliant and robust energy strategy will reduce exposure to grid failures. This ensures effective management of energy estates and is critical to protecting patient care and health workers.
• The right partner can accelerate your efficiency goals, ensuring resilience, continuity and cost savings.
• Overall, reducing the carbon footprint of healthcare estates accelerates the UK-wide journey to net zero.
A changing world demands a new approach to energy, to both protect the future, and to improve the present.