NHS organisations are encouraged to take part in the NHS sustainability day of action, which takes place on the 28 March.
To support trusts to plan activities and help to raise awareness of the importance of sustainability, a new 'self service' portal is available providing a range of useful information and resources, including:
- an energy survey and audit checklist
- energy advice leaflets
- employee awareness posters x 9
- fact sheets, good practice guides
- check lists and top tips
- a carbon calculator
- information targeted at specific staff groups including trust boards.
The site also includes ideas for holding your own event, case studies and links to other useful sources of information.Get involved, mark the day
You can support NHS sustainability day at your trust by:
- holding your own awareness event
- publishing information on your staff intranet and in your newsletters highlighting the importance of sustainability.
Here are some ideas:
- light bulb'Securing Sustainability' - encourage your security teams to switch off lights and equipment left on overnights and weekends whilst they carry out routine patrols. Ask them to focus on energy waste as they walk round and quantify and communicate what they find - this will save energy, money and raise the profile of the security team.
- 'Do one thing' - challenge people in your organisation to just do one thing differently for NHS sustainability day to demonstrate that lots of small changes can add up to making a big difference.
- 'Catch the drip' - ask a member of your estates team to spend the day walking your properties and fixing dripping taps and cisterns.
- cyclingCar sharing, cycling and walk to work initiatives are a great way to reduce the carbon footprint of your organisation.
- 'Plant a tree’ - NHS Forest are very keen to support trusts with tree planting ideas.
- What other NHS organisations are doing
Kings College Hospital in London plan to host an event where trust staff pledge to become more sustainable in there roles and the delivery of healthcare. They will also be launching a trustwide environmental strategy. In Merseyside, Liverpool PCT is working collaboratively across 13 Trusts and this year will be launching their new joint sustainable development Communications campaign and training programme. The PCT is also taking forward joint sustainable procurement and travel programmes, strategy development and carbon reduction plans, they will use NHS sustainability day as a launch date for these initiatives.
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