01.12.12
Treading gently: a fresh approach to carbon reduction
Source: National Health Executive Nov/Dec 2012
Tom Stone, public affairs director at NHS Supply Chain, discusses carbon management within the organisation and across the health service.
Spending more than £150bn every year on healthcare and being one of the largest employers in the world, it’s inevitable that the NHS will have caused Mother Nature a few problems throughout its 64 years of life. In 2012, the annual carbon footprint of the service stood at 21 million tonnes of CO2 – 3% of the total UK output (Unit, 2012) (1).
However, things are changing. In 2008, the Government implemented the Climate Change Act, challenging the NHS with a 34% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 and an 80% reduction by 2050 (against 1990 levels) (2). As a part of this, the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC), an energy efficiency scheme operated by the Environment Agency, was introduced. Applicable to most NHS organisations, the aim of the CRC is to save four million tonnes of CO2 and £1bn every year across the UK economy by 2020.
And in 2009, the NHS Sustainable Development Unit (SDU) published the NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England, consolidating the requirements of the Climate Change Act from an NHS perspective and providing advice and guidance for trusts rising to the challenge, from energy and water, through to transport, waste and the built environment.
Despite this work, a recent forecast by the NHS Sustainable Development Unit reported that the NHS was likely to only achieve a 9.8% reduction in carbon emissions by 2020 – so there’s still a long journey ahead.
The procurement question
With around 60% of the total carbon footprint of the NHS relating to the procurement of goods and services, this is one major area where efficiencies would make a huge difference (3). And as a leading procurement provider to the NHS, NHS Supply Chain is in a unique position to help trusts achieve the targets of the Carbon Reduction Strategy.
The business’ latest annual sustainability report shows some impressive results. Between 2008 and 2011, NHS Supply Chain reduced carbon emissions by over 26% against a significant backdrop of growth for the business. NHS delivery points more than doubled during this period, but through improved route planning and delivery consolidation as well as fleet development, the business managed to significantly reduce diesel consumption, achieving a 5% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions.
Barry Knichel, managing director for Supply Chain and Business Transformation at NHS Supply Chain, explained: “In the current economic climate and public sector spending cuts, the temptation is there for trusts to focus on short-term, cost efficient solutions.
“However, as we’ve highlighted in our latest sustainability report, cost efficiency and sustainability very often go hand in hand.
“Since 2008, we’ve successfully reduced electricity consumption by 18%, gas consumption by 35% and water consumption by 30% across our network of distribution centres. This is in addition to a 71% recycling rate on business waste and more efficient fuel consumption across our fleet of delivery vehicles.
“We’ve come on leaps and bounds in the past few years – and we’re constantly challenging ourselves to do even better in our journey to securing a healthcare supply chain that’s fit for the future.”
A helping hand
NHS Supply Chain has long held environmental protection at the heart of its business practices, having first achieved ISO14001 (2004) Environmental Management Systems certification over 10 years ago. This has provided the business with a strong foundation upon which to build a sustainable supply chain that’s fit for the future.
Colin Stuart, operational sustainability manager at NHS Supply Chain, said: “Having a certified environmental management system has meant that protecting the environment is the responsibility of everyone within the business.
“From warehouse operative right up to board level, priority is given to ensuring our impact on the environment is as minimal as possible.”
ISO certification has helped NHS Supply Chain on its journey to improve and excel within the sustainability arena. The business sets annual improvement targets for vital areas such as energy, water, recycling and waste, packaging, fuel efficiency and vehicle utilisation.
Stuart continued: “The environmental management system has enabled sustainability to become firmly ingrained in the culture of NHS Supply Chain. It helps us to focus on our main goal – saving money and delivering value back to the NHS by reducing our carbon emissions.”
Looking to a green future
Knichel is enthusiastic about NHS Supply Chain’s sustainable plans and the benefits these will bring to NHS trusts. He said: “We know that each trust has its own sustainability targets and we’re working across the NHS to share best practice. Collaboration is the best way of succeeding – sharing knowledge and experiences to improve procurement across the NHS to ensure it benefits from sustainable solutions.
“This year, we’re trialling a 14-tonne hybrid vehicle as part of our delivery fleet to analyse the impact on delivery performance and efficiency. We’re also looking at introducing a new satellite navigation system on our vehicles to optimise fuel efficiency and manage route planning, and looking at where we can either reconfigure delivery routes or consolidate deliveries to hospital sites to save a further 50,000 vehicle miles.”
There’s no ‘quick fix’ to reducing the carbon footprint of the NHS. The pure size and scale of the service ensures that it’s a gigantic challenge. However, trusts can work with procurement organisations such as NHS Supply Chain to identify opportunities and share ideas that help the NHS to become more ‘carbon friendly’. For example, by maximising delivery capabilities through vehicle or route efficiencies and adopting flexibility around delivery timeframes, trusts can deliver internal efficiencies whilst also supporting a lean and green healthcare supply chain for the future.
References
1 NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England – Update, 2012, NHS Sustainable Development Unit, p2
2 NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England – Update, 2012, NHS Sustainable Development Unit, p3
3 NHS Carbon Reduction Strategy for England – Update, 2012, NHS Sustainable Development Unit, p7
Case study– Turning on the green light
With over 80,000m2 of warehouse space to illuminate 24 hours a day, seven days a week, NHS Supply Chain’s seven regional distribution centres are the largest energy guzzlers in the business. However, through the adoption of more efficient lighting technology implemented in collaboration with DHL’s corporate real estate department, the business saw savings of over 1,000,000 kWh in 2011.
An initial review of three distribution centres in Alfreton, Bridgwater and Normanton led to the recommendation of a complete refit of the existing lighting with new T5 energy efficient movement and LUX sensor controlled lighting. This system allowed warehouse aisles to be switched off automatically when not in use or when adequate levels of natural light were detected through the warehouse skylights and clear roof panels.
The benefits are already being realised across the distribution centre network, with the business saving the equivalent energy needed to power 300 average homes for a year. An environmentally-friendly solution that reduces operational costs is good news for both the business and customers.
Case study – The greener road ahead
Having a delivery fleet that is flexible, reliable and efficient to meet the unique challenges of delivering to the NHS is crucial for NHS Supply Chain. And with the business’ fleet covering millions of UK road miles every year, an additional challenge is ensuring that the fuel efficiency and delivery capabilities of these vehicles are being maximised to reduce carbon emissions.
When designing the business’ new vehicle fleet, the transport team at NHS Supply Chain worked closely with the manufacturer to build the most efficient vehicles possible. All new vehicles are fitted with the most up to date Euro 5 diesel engines as standard, meaning that they release fewer exhaust emissions per mile travelled. Additional measures, such as a 53mph speed limitation and automatic engine shut-off when stationery ensures that the vehicles are working hard to be kind to Mother Nature.
In support of the business’ drive for innovation, NHS Supply Chain took delivery of its first batch of tear-drop wagon and drag vehicles in December 2011 – the first of their kind in Europe – which are already showing miles per gallon (MPG) increase of 5% against standard shaped vehicles.
And the journey doesn’t stop there. In 2012, NHS Supply Chain will be trialling a Hybrid Electric Drive System at the business’ Maidstone distribution centre for deliveries into Central London.
Through fleet optimisation, NHS Supply Chain saved 452 tonnes of CO2e in 2011 compared to 2010 – equivalent to taking almost 2 million car miles of UK roads.