In an article in the May 2011 issue of Health Estate Journal, Debbie Hobbs, principal at environmental consultancy, Environ, explained the steps that organisations obligated under the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) scheme needed to take over the following 3-4 years, and set out a checklist of actions to help.
Here Gordon Lee, manager, and Malcolm Hanna, senior manager, at the firm, provide an update and highlight the priorities for the coming few months as the scheme progresses to its next stages.
The Carbon Reduction Commitment Energy Efficiency Scheme (CRC) is a mandatory scheme aimed at improving energy efficiency and cutting carbon emissions in the large public and private sector organisations that are responsible for around 10% of the UK’s carbon emissions. Hospitals use a significant amount of energy – with the healthcare sector spending about £450 million annually on energy bills – so it should come as no surprise that most hospitals, including those run by NHS Trusts, have to comply with the Carbon Reduction Commitment, along with other organisations such as larger groups of nursing homes. In England, 157 NHS organisations are participants in the CRC, alongside around 2,000 private UK businesses and other public sector organisations. The good news is that, with the help of the NHS Sustainable Development Unit, all NHS organisations which were obliged to sign up to the CRC managed to do so in time. The CRC scheme introductory phase was launched on 1 April 2010, and the publication of the first Performance League Table (PLT), in October 2011, brought the carbon performance of businesses and public sector organisations, including the health sector, under greater public scrutiny.
Top of the league
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