One enthusiastic participant in CIBSE’s 2009 “100 Hours of Carbon Clean up Campaign”, launched on 3 September this year (HEJ – October 2009) is the Spire Tunbridge Wells Hospital in Kent, which ran its first “Energy Week” in late September as part of the private healthcare group’s “100 Hours” campaign.
Philip Belton, estates and engineering manager, elaborated: “Our energy week was held very much as a launchpad for similar initiatives at other Spire Hospitals, and as part of our recently launched national energy strategy (HEJ – September 2009). During the week we held a departmental team challenge to find the hospital’s most carbon-friendly department; our energy strategy is very much about engaging staff as much as possible. We also ran a competition with the local Penshurst Primary School to design carbon reduction awareness posters, which were on display in the main reception and will be turned into awareness posters for the hospital. “The kitchen staff put together a low carbon menu designed around locallysourced produce to reduce food miles, while the engineering department held ‘behind the scenes’ energy tours of the plant rooms to explain why carbon reduction is so important.” VIP visitors on the tour included members from the engineering management department of the Tunbridge Wells and Maidstone NHS Trust, and councillor David Elliott, head of sustainability and climate change, Tunbridge Wells Borough Council. Detailed monitoring of site energy consumption throughout the week showed weather-compensated consumption at the hospital was down 16% compared to the same time last year.
