SHEFFIELD TEACHING HOSPITALS NHS FOUNDATION TRUST

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

REPORT TO THE TRUST HEALTHCARE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

HELD ON 23JANUARY 2012

Subject: / Sustainable Development Programme
Supporting Directors: / Sir Andrew Cash CEO, Iain Thompson, NED, Kirsten Major Director of Service Development.
Author: / Phil Brennan - Estates Director
Status1 / Note

PURPOSE OF THE REPORT:

To providean annual progress report.

KEY POINTS:

A sustainable development action plan was approved by the Board of Directors in October 2011 that sets out specific objectives for Trust Directors which support sustainable development going forward.
Principles of sustainable development are being embedded within the Trust via “Be Green” representatives and within the design of new buildings.
The Trust has achieved significant reductions in CO2 emissions and energy consumption during 11/12.
The Trustis on trajectory to achieve the 2015 carbon reduction target providing current tends continue.

IMPLICATIONS2

Achieve Clinical Excellence
Be Patient Focused
Engaged Staff
CQC Outcome / 10: Safety & Suitability of Premises

RECOMMENDATION(S):

The Healthcare Governance Committeeis asked to note the contents of this report.

APPROVAL PROCESS

Meeting / Presented / Approved / Date
TEG / Via email / yes / 06/01/2012
HCGC / Phil Brennan / 23/1/2012

1 Status:A = Approval

A* = Approval & Requiring Board Approval

D = Debate

N = Note

2 Against the three pillars (aims) of the STH Corporate Strategy 2008-2012 and CQC outcomes

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

HEALTHCARE GOVERNANCE COMMITTEE

23 JANUARY 2012

ANNUAL REPORT-SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

1.INTRODUCTION

The previousreport was presented to the Healthcare Governance Committee at the meeting held on24 January 2011. This paper provides a summary of the progress which has taken place over the last year.

2. PROGRESS REPORT

2.1 Sustainable Development Action Plan

The Sustainable DevelopmentAction Plan for the Trust was approved by the Board of Directors in October 2011.

The Action Plan will assist the Trust in becoming a good corporate citizen and by doing so it will be using resources to make a significant contribution to the health and sustainability of the communities it serves.

The Action Plan is a ‘living document’ which will be subject to review and adaptation in response to new challenges.

Approval of the Action Plan is a key milestone achievement and sets out objectives for Trust Directors.

There are 42 objectives which fall into the following 13 categories:

Learning from best practice

Creating a culture of sustainable development

Ensuring sustainability is embedded into systems and processes

Meeting the NHS CO2 reduction targets in energy and water

Discovering the CO2 footprint of our procured items

Ensuring efficient use of resources in our practices

Encouraging suppliers and business partners to innovate

Meeting the NHS CO2 reduction targets in waste

Aiming to contribute to reductions in congestion and air pollution

Meeting the NHS CO2 reduction targets in travel

Helping employees, patients and the community to live a sustainable life

Aiming for an increase in employees’ awareness and motivation

Maintaining and, where relevant, protecting natural vegetation on the campuses

Several objectives are aimed at gathering more information and creating individual business cases for approval/funding/implementation. This will ensure that all prospective projects are properly evaluated and progressed. Each individual business case will include the likely carbon savings, cost savings and other qualitative benefits where relevant.

Progress will be monitored by the Sustainable Development Manager and will form the basis of future progress reports.

2.2Be Green Awards

For the second year a “Be Green Award” was presented at the Trust’s “Thank You” awardsceremony held inNovember 2011.

The winner of this year’s award went to Peter Tanker for establishing a recyclingproject.

The winner will be planting a fruit tree on the central campus in Spring as a lasting token oftheir work. There will be a ‘planting ceremony’ with Be Green winners and a community based GrowSheffield who have provided the tree under the Abundance project which promotes the growing and harvesting of fruit.

2.3Be Green Representatives.

Training of ‘Be Green Representatives’ (BGRs) continues. There are currently 189 Trained BGR and further 274 have expressed a potentialinterest in training. 129 BGRs have been accompanied by the Sustainable Development Manager to identify potential improvements in their work area. This work will continue.

2.4Carbon Modelling Project

Carbon modelling project with SheffieldUniversity’s School of Health and Related Research (ScHARR) is moving forward. Key metrics have been collated and potential projects to investigate have been identified. The aim of this project is to investigate ways to reduce NHS carbon emissions by modelling the relationship between financial, carbon, healthcare and operational considerations linked to the patient-pathway.

2.5Cystic FibrosisUnit at the NGH

The CF unit has recently been provided with a hybrid vehicle used to provide outpatient services in the community. The plan is to replace this vehicle with an electricvehiclewithin the next 1- 2 years when electric cars have become commercially viable.

In preparation for this and also to capturethe feed in tariff incentive, solar panels have been installed on the roof of the CF building. The objective is to demonstrate how low carbon patient pathways can be achieved. The solar panels will provide renewable fuel for the electric car this will reduce costs and emissions while promoting care in the communitywill reducethe need for patients and cars to visit the hospital. On completion the initiativewill be subject to publicityand post project evaluation.

2.6NGH New LaboratoryBuilding

The new building is currently under construction and is planned to be operational in June 2012. The building will have solar panels, a green roof, bicycle parking and is expected to achieve BREEAM Excellence ‘A’ rating for best practice in sustainable building design, construction and operation. This rating has become the most comprehensive and widely recognised measure of a buildings environmental performance. The measures used represent a broad range of categories and criteria from energy to ecology. They include aspects related to energy and water use, the internal environment (health and well-being), pollution, transport, materials, waste, ecologyand management processes.

2.7Partnership working

The Trust continues to be an active member of the following working Groups:

Low Carbon Working Group with Sheffield City Council

Health and Well Being Group

Sustainable Travel Group

Climate Change Management Group Yorkshire and Humber NHS

Sheffield Health Planet

SheffieldUniversity’s School of Health and Related Research

2.8NGH Internal Bus Service

The existing diesel powered bus is to be replaced with an electric busfunded by the League of Friends and is expected to be in service by Spring 2012.

2.9Energy

Comparing the period April 2011 to November 2011 against the same period last year, electricity consumed by the Trust has been reduced by 6.7%. Gas consumption has been reduced by 21.3%.This equates to a reduction of 4,616 tonnesin CO2 emissions, a reduction of 13.2% on the same period last year.

This has been achieved by:

The partial decentralisation of the steam distribution system at the NGH via the installation of gas fired installations servingperipheral buildings.

The installation of a Summertime heating system at the RHH designed to serve critical areas and processes which still require heat during Summertime. This enables the larger distribution system to be switched off during the Summer thus reducing the standing losses and also reducing the energyrequired to cool the building during Summer.

A number of other smaller initiatives.

It is intended to continue work on a number of energy/carbon reduction schemes in 2012/13 to reduce energy and carbon emissionsand beyond subject to the availability of resources.

2.10The Sustainable Development Manager

The full time sustainable development manager(Katrina McCartney) left the Trust on maternity leave in November 2011 for up to 12 months. Ash Chudasama (Capital Project Manager) will cover the role on a part-time basis to ensure progress and momentum is retained.

3. CONCLUSION

The Trust continues to perform reasonably well and is on trajectory to achieve the 2015 carbon reduction target providing current trends continue.

Is it important to note, carbon reduction targetsafter 2015 will only be achievable by changes in service provision which are significantly less carbon intense.

Phil Brennan

Estates Director

30 December 2011

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