IHEEM members may have noticed in the Institute News section of last month’s Health Estate Journal that the Institute’s secretariat has signed up to the CIBSE 100 days of Carbon Cleanup.
The IHEEM secretariat will be aiming to do the following in order to reduce the carbon emissions of the office:
- Turning off lights when not required.
- Turning off PCs, printers and photocopiers when not required.
- Only boiling the kettle with the amount of water required.
- Recycling paper and cutting down on printing where possible.
- Using recycled paper in the fax machine and implementing an e-fax system.
- Trying to purchase recycled products where possible and recycling all printer cartridges.
According to CIBSE, carbon saving in buildings is easier than often thought. Behavioural changes among employees is vital and can result in a more comfortable workplace as well as cutting carbon levels and saving on energy bills. Longer-term changes could include investing in new technology or introducing new lighting and heating systems to a building, as well as the purchasing of recycled paper and energy efficient appliances. Anything that uses energy, or burns fuel, emits carbon. Switching off the lights overnight in an empty meeting room throughout the year can save 440 kg of CO2. Recycling one tonne of paper is equivalent to providing heat and hot water for a home for a year.
It also saves 15 trees, 2.5 barrels of oil, 2.26 m3 of landfill space, 31,320 gallons of water and 27 kg of air pollutants While such steps may be practical in an office environment they are not easily transferable to the complex world of healthcare. According to the Carbon Trust, the NHS emits approximately one million tonnes of carbon each year and has an annual energy bill of approximately £400 million. It also has the largest capital spend programme in Europe. The Carbon Trust points to the Department of Health’s mandatory target for the NHS to reduce its carbon emissions by 0.15 million tonnes by 2010, and regulation from the EU ETS and Energy Performance in Buildings Directive. Reducing carbon emissions and capturing cost savings are seen as activities for NHS Trust boards to address. The Carbon Trust offers NHS Trusts assistance in meeting targets through its NHSCM (NHS Carbon Management) programme which provides practical support in the form of analysis tools, technical expertise, workshops for staff and management training. The reduction of CO2 emissions is no longer seen as just as an “estates issue” but the responsibility of the whole organisation.
Those who would like their organisations to be considered for Phase 3 of the programme for carbon management in the NHS (which begins in May 2008) should visit www.carbontrust.co.uk/carbon/nhs/
Sources: www.carbontrust.co.uk/carbon/nhs and www.cibse.org
