CARBON REDUCTION
steps they can take to be more energy- efficient in how they occupy buildings. These steps include regularly reporting on our ‘target’ sites, marking big consumers and poor performers against our benchmarks, and identifying sites with large gaps between their EPC and DEC rating.
This programme resulted in around 5,000 tonnes of carbon saving last year alone, and we are hopeful that this success will continue.
‘Invest to Save’ programme A further programme that we established in 2019 was ‘Invest to Save’. This programme upgrades NHSPS sites to have LED lighting. In its first year, the upgrade of 30 sites brought savings of £549,000, the equivalent of 830 tonnes of carbon dioxide. So far, we have seen over 50 of our sites upgraded to LED lighting through the Invest to Save programme, and we are excited for this to continue throughout this year. The sites for this scheme are chosen based on where the reduction potential for both carbon and additional maintenance costs are substantial. We will have over 80 sites, and over £6.5 million, invested in standalone energy efficiency projects by the end of the second year of the programme. One of our biggest achievements has been in the area of reducing waste, with under 1% of our waste now going to landfill. This is an ongoing process, with recycling being increased across our sites where possible. General waste is sent to sorting facilities, to separate out any recyclable materials. Some of our waste cannot be recycled due to it being medical waste, so this gets sent to Energy from Waste facilities, where the waste is converted into energy. This means that the system benefits from electricity and/or heat from our waste.
Step 2:
Maintaining reduced carbon consumption
First and foremost, a huge step that needs to be taken across the NHS estate is the decarbonisation of heat. This is particularly needed in large, older hospital estates, many of which were designed to run on steam. We are looking into Power Purchase Agreements (PPA), which are long-term electricity supply agreements, usually between a power producer and a customer – for example NHSPS. PPAs define the conditions of the agreement, such as the amount of electricity to be supplied, negotiated prices, accounting, and penalties for non-compliance. These are beneficial, as they help to reduce investment costs associated with planning or operating renewable energy.
We are also looking into a mixed portfolio of onsite and offsite solutions for
42 Health Estate Journal April 2021
Maintenance colleagues, Rob Slater and Andy Stratham, collecting the PPE consignment for the North West from the Cross O’Cliff facility in Lincoln.
renewable energy, including, for instance, heat pumps, biomass, solar, and hydrogen. With its high number of buildings, NHSPS is well-placed to look at onsite solutions, which will also facilitate the importation of more renewable energy into the marketplace, and help to ease pressures as the grid starts to decarbonise. While removing gas entirely should be the end goal, I do not believe this will be possible until we see hydrogen become a widely available option at a cost-effective price. For now, however, I believe that we can still look to reduce our reliance on gas. For example, in the warmer months, we can use energy from solar power and heat pumps, as these are cost-effective in sunny, warmer weather. These solutions do also bring their own challenges. In the case of solar power, for instance, the condition of the roof, security, and access for maintenance, all need to be considered.
‘Mass movement’ into electric vehicles
In addition to transitioning to renewable energy, across the country we are seeing a mass movement into electric vehicles. This is not a surprise considering the government’s strong push for this in its 10-point plan for a ‘Green Industrial Revolution’ outlined last November, which
brought forward the date from which sales of new petrol and diesel vehicles would be banned to 2030. This push sets the healthcare estate quite a challenge when we consider the charging capacity required on site, and the subsequent impact on a Trust’s carbon emissions. If the electricity does not come from a 100% renewable energy source, the carbon footprint of the organisation will, of course, increase. High demand vehicles, such as ambulances which are moving around all the time, will have the biggest environmental impact, so these should also be moved to electric as soon as possible.
Question of capacity
Even if an estate does have renewable energy to charge the vehicles, the question of capacity still arises. Identifying space on estates that can be transformed into charging points for electric vehicles is challenging. While the need for charging stations is understandable for ambulances and other key vehicles for hospitals, I do question whether additional points for other electric cars should also be a requirement. One way of understanding this debate is through using the example of hospitals; these do not have petrol stations on their sites for vehicles currently, so should they be expected to
NHSPS FM leader, Dianne Cullen (pictured centre), and her FM team.
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