Carbon and energy saving for the Model Hospital

Against the backdrop of the Lord Carter Productivity and Efficiency Agenda, the Carbon and Energy Fund (CEF), with the support and endorsement of IHEEM and HefmA, has put together what it dubs ‘an essential piece of literature for all Trusts’ – A Standards Guide: Carbon and Energy Saving for the Model Hospital. Here David Mackey, director of the Carbon and Energy Fund – which funds, facilitates, and project manages complex energy infrastructure upgrades for the NHS and wider public sector – explains the background to the compilation of, and the key elements within, this key report.

According to IHEEM’s President, Peter Sellars, ‘the economic benefits of investing in energy-related cost-saving schemes within the NHS are well known and understood’. The former director and head of Profession/Policy at NHS Estates & Facilities England, who also recently served as national lead for the Lord Carter EFM Productivity & Efficiency Programme, and is a Trustee of the CEF, adds: “The NHS is already benefiting through the significant carbon and cost reductions that have been delivered by our profession over the last 10-15 years, but, as evidence suggests, there is still a long way to go. To support this next phase of investment, the new CEF publication, A Standards Guide: Carbon and Energy Saving for the Model Hospital, has been developed for the NHS. This document will provide a valuable source of information to estates professionals about both proven and new energy technologies that are suitable for including in future Trust-wide energy strategies.” 

Meanwhile, Paul Fenton, national chair of the Health Estates & Facilities Management Association (HefmA), said: “The NHS has had a proven track record in achieving energy savings and carbon reductions over many years, using both innovative and tried and tested initiatives. The challenge now is to encompass the learning and the success it has brought into a consolidated form through the development of this Best Practice Energy Guidance document for the benefit of the NHS and the estates professionals that work within it. The document will provide a concise source of information on new and proven energy initiatives, and HefmA endorses its use as essential guidance for any Trust writing its energy strategy and planning for the future.”