Boiler burden reduced at Bedford site

In the current climate – both financial and environmental – energy saving is a major priority for any organisation. Reducing one’s carbon footprint is no longer just a vague concept that is seen as a good bit of public relations; it is now financially savvy and driven by schemes such as the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), which is likely to affect around 5,000 of the UK’s largest organisations, including the NHS. Under the CRC scheme, any organisation with a half-hourly electricity consumption totalling more than 6,000 MWh per year (currently equivalent to approximately £500,000 per annum) will be required to record all energy usage (other than transport fuels), including electricity, gas, and oil. From 2012, the organisation will then be faced with a tax on the carbon they emit. There is no surprise that the NHS falls under the CRC scheme; it is, after all, a major user of energy. However, unlike many other organisations which seem to have adopted a “head in the sand” approach, the NHS has been proactive in investigating carbon reduction using expert advice and feedback from members. The resulting Department of Health Sustainable Development Strategy was published in 2008, and the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England early in 2009. Within the latter document, the NHS was identified as having a carbon footprint of about 18 million tonnes of CO2 per year, composed of energy (22%), travel (18%), and procurement (60%).

Increased efficiency, yet higher footprint

Despite an increase in efficiency, the NHS has increased its carbon footprint by 40% since 1990. To meet the Climate Change Act’s targets of 26% reduction by 2020, and 80% reduction by 2050, the NHS will have to work hard; it aims to reduce its 2007 carbon footprint by 10% by 2015. It is certainly no easy task, and making it all the more difficult is the differing nature of Trusts across England, with buildings and plant that vary widely in terms of both age and efficiency. Even with strategic guidelines in place, each Trust still has its own decisions to make on areas to target for maximum carbon and efficiency savings. With procurement representing approximately 60% of a Trust’s carbon footprint, you would be excused for thinking that this is the likely area to prioritise, but this may not necessarily, in fact, be the best step forward. Such organisations may do better to look at their energy consumption. Bedford Hospital NHS Trust is a good case in hand, having been one of the Trusts which was quick to react to the CRC proposals, with its Estates Team evaluating the impact on the organisation. It concluded that the scheme will require the Trust to pay a tax of circa £12/tonne of carbon, produced as a direct result of the utilities used on the main site. It is currently estimated that the Trust produces around 9,000 tonnes of carbon a year, equal to an additional cost of £108,000 per year. Working with carbon reduction specialists, Bedford Hospital identified a number of areas ripe for efficiency improvements, with the boiler house being the priority.