NHS trusts, hospitals and surgeries are using 10:10 campaign to engage staff and adopt an ambitious, yet achievable target for emissions reductions

Many NHS leaders are already meeting the climate change challenge head-on by implementing decisive carbon reduction plans. As well as helping to meet regulatory requirements, plans for reducing emissions also present an opportunity for extraordinary financial savings: the NHS Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) estimates that the NHS can save at least £180 million per year just by reducing its carbon emissions.
 
Talking about Carbon
A strong communications strategy can help to unlock the full value of a carbon reduction plan. Beside investment-led measures to improve equipment and infrastructure, NHS organisations can save ten per cent on their energy spend simply by encouraging staff to take everyday action to cut energy usage.
   
Energy awareness campaigns like the one being run by NHS Stockport, have reduced carbon emissions by focusing staff attention on the use of lighting, heating and lifts in the workplace, by promoting minimised or low-carbon travel, and by encouraging home working and better use of technology.
    
Longer-term reputational benefits also accrue from a well-communicated carbon campaign. The NHS is a major player in the debate on carbon emissions and climate change. Engaging staff and the wider community in a discussion about climate change, and encouraging low-carbon activity enhances the reputation of the NHS among patients, partner organisations, existing and prospective staff, and external suppliers.
 
The 10:10 campaign
An increasing number of businesses, education bodies and health organisations are joining the 10:10 campaign, using it as a platform for communicating their carbon reduction policy to key audiences, and thus getting the most from their carbon reduction plans.
    
Founded in 2009 by the makers of climate docu-drama “The Age of Stupid”, 10:10 has swiftly become the foremost dedicated climate change campaign in the UK. Conceived with the aim of getting all sectors of society to cut their carbon by ten per cent in 2010, the campaign has so far attracted the support of around 90,000 individuals, 3,000 businesses and 4,000 public and non-profit organisations.
   
The momentum behind the campaign has boosted the carbon-cutting activity of businesses and organisations like Tottenham Hotspur FC, the Royal Opera House and Microsoft. Following on from this success, 10:10 is set to continue into 2011 with the same central message – that anyone can cut ten per cent off their carbon footprint through simple everyday actions and energy awareness.
    
Whether or not you have an established carbon reduction plan, 10:10 can help. The campaign’s inclusive approach helps to bridge the gap between carbon-cutting in the workplace, and the more personal environmental commitments made by individuals and households. This makes it an invaluable tool for sustainability coordinators and communication officers alike. 10:10’s bold, positive message and focus on everyday actions can help to translate the sometimes arcane language of sustainability planning into one that is easily understood by both staff and stakeholders.

In the press
Canny organisations and businesses have used 10:10 to give a sense of cohesion to their carbon action plan – which might cover areas as diverse as travel planning, procurement and energy usage – and to foster engagement at all levels of the organisation. A recognised campaign with extensive mainstream coverage, 10:10 has also been useful for organisations wanting to advertise their carbon cutting achievements to a broader audience. As well as sharing case studies on its website, the 10:10 receives regular media attention, thanks to partnerships with the Guardian newspaper and with lifestyle magazines such as Cosmopolitan, Reveal and Men’s Health. In parts of the country such as Gloucestershire, the 10:10 campaign has also been championed enthusiastically by the local press.

Travel
Implementing travel plans across the NHS could reduce its carbon footprint by around 90,000 tonnes a year. Adjusting the way we get around (for example by replacing some cars with bicycles or public transport) can cater to the so-called ‘triple bottom line’, improving health, the environment and departmental finances.    
   
Technology is also helping to reduce the number of journeys which might be seen as essential. The SDU estimates that if five per cent of business miles travelled by NHS were displaced by video and teleconferencing, the NHS could save £14 million in time, petrol and parking costs.
   
John Simpson, director of estates and facilities, the Nottingham University Hospital Trust,
“As part of our 10:10 pledge, we’ve aimed to reduce the amount of travel required of staff and patients moving between the trust’s two busy campuses. We have put on a free bus service in partnership with the council, linking it with Nottingham’s tram system and its park-and-ride scheme. When a nearby multi-storey car park was closed, it provided a well-established alternative transport infrastructure that helped prevent 800,000 car journeys, or the equivalent of 300 tonnes of CO2 a year. We’ve also introduced sustainable procurement. Now each of the 7,000 pints of milk consumed by the hospitals each week is sourced through contracts with local farmers, which has reduced its food miles by at least 90,000 miles. And in addition to food, pharmaceuticals and equipment must meet stringent energy standards.”
 
Procurement
Without a doubt, the most carbon-hungry activity that the NHS must engage in is procurement. Carbon associated with the extraction, processing, assembly, packaging, transport, storage and handling of products and materials accounts for 60 per cent of carbon emissions for the whole of the NHS.            

Selective purchasing and waste minimisation in pharmaceuticals alone can produce £90 million a year in cost savings, as well as saving the equivalent of 22,000 tonnes of CO2 every year.
   
Trevor Payne, University College London Hospitals said: “At UCLH, procurement accounts for around 76 per cent of our carbon footprint. We have sought to embed carbon considerations into our purchasing activities, alongside those of quality and price. In particular, we work with so called neutral vendors who collect, store and distribute efficiently from a central hub. As well as this, staff are constantly involved in thinking of new ways to minimise the environmental impacts of what we do. For example, our kitchens recently held the 10:10 Low Carbon Challenge to see who could cook the most environmentally friendly meal.”

On Site Energy Use
Any NHS organisation with an energy spend over £50,000 will qualify for a free energy audit from the Carbon Trust. This will show up the opportunities for energy saving measures, either in the form of ‘invest to save’ schemes, or lower cost staff engagement. The opportunities are huge. Simply reducing the NHS thermostats by one degree could save it £2 million a year and nearly 50,000 tonnes in carbon emissions.

Trevor Payne, University College London Hospitals said: “We estimated that computers left on overnight waste up to 75 watts of electricity per machine. Across a network the size of ours, this really adds up. Although our energy awareness projects have had considerable success, some employees forget to switch their computers off at the end of the day.
   
“Energy wasted by unused computers costs around £300m and produces 3m tonnes of CO2 a year. On top of this, the heat generated by unused computers puts an unnecessary extra burden on the air conditioning system. Our solution was to install an automated power management system, designed to turn off PCs when they’re not in use.”
 
Staff Engagement
The SDU has recommended that NHS organisations should “pursue an active communications strategy to raise awareness about sustainability at every level of the organisation.” As well as producing surprisingly large cost and carbon savings through behavioural change – the SDU estimates that staff energy awareness could save the NHS £5 million a year – communications campaigns such as 10:10 generate ideas and foster a sense of pride and involvement among staff, patients and the wider community.
   
Jilla Burgess-Allen, NHS Stockport said: “We decided we would put staff engagement at the heart of Stockport’s 10:10 campaign. We’ve drafted a team of 20 voluntary ‘green champions’, to share carbon cutting ideas and support their colleague’s efforts. Staff can find a green office guide, an eco-footprint quiz as well as all kinds of carbon tips on our intranet, as well as getting a 10:10-themed bulletin e-mail which gives them some ideas about what they can be doing that month to cut their ten per cent. We’ve found incentives and rewards to be more effective than punitive approaches, so this year we are introducing a new green staff award, and we’re planning a 10:10 picnic to celebrate our achievements – and our fantastic local food!”

For more information
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10:10 NHS Trust checklist

1. Lead from the top: Get Board endorsement, task the management team, identify a senior 10:10 project lead and prepare a baseline carbon-footprint.

2. Everyone’s talking about it: Tell all your staff, students, suppliers and patients about 10:10 and work with them to cut your emissions. Keep them informed and shout about your joint success.

3. Save ten per cent on bills: Cut ten per cent of your energy, waste and water and save £££s. Book a Carbon Survey from the Carbon Trust, join the Carbon Trust NHS Network and the Carbon Trust Carbon Management Programme.

4. Save ten per cent on travel: Get a Travel Plan including: lift-share, cycle to work, parking charges, public transport, video/phone conference, driver training, new vehicles. Take up the help available from the Energy Saving Trust.

5. Nursing power: Get all wards using the 10:10 ward checklist to save ten per cent on energy, travel, consumption and waste. Make sure no newspapers or sterile packaging go in the clinical waste bins – get them recycled! Do your nurses run car-share schemes and win prizes for the greenest ward?

6. Medics on board: Pharmaceuticals and medical kit make up one-third of the NHS carbon footprint so clinical savings are big savings. Get departments looking for low value investigations and include carbon impacts in clinical audit. Ten per cent of clinics done by telephone? We’re impressed.

7. Save ten per cent on procurement: 60 per cent of the NHS Carbon Footprint is in procurement. It’s a tough one but if we can do brain surgery we can crack low carbon procurement. Sign up to Meat Free Mondays, ban bottled water, buy local seasonal food, recycled paper etc. Get help from PASA and the Carbon Trust.

8. Money makes the world go round: Are you ready for Carbon Accounting and the Carbon Reduction Commitment? Carbon is king. Interest free loans are available from Salix Finance.

9. Policy Heaven: Review your policies and make sure they all include cutting carbon and sustainability. Borrow from NHS Gloucestershire’s Sustainable Development Impact Assessment.

10. Report Back: Let 10:10 HQ know how you got on with cutting your carbon emissions via the 10:10 online reporting tool.