Lincolnshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust - Saving Carbon, Improving Health

A Sustainable Development Action Plan at a £90m turnover Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust embraces ten objectives.  The first commitment by the Board of Directors and the Council of Governors is crucial to its success.  This is exemplified by the creation of a Revolving Energy Reduction Investment Fund.  Both Capital and Revenue investments are aimed at reducing costs.  SMART Metering, Voltage optimisation, low energy lighting and a staff awareness campaign are fundamental within the plan.

Changing staff behaviour, encouraging a culture of switching off lights and equipment and using more sustainable modes of transport appropriately, is done by constant messaging on posters, stickers, coasters and electronic messages.  To support this there is a SAGE project where staff volunteer to become Supporters of A Greener Environment to carry the messages to their colleagues. 

Procurement of goods and services forms a sizeable part of the carbon footprint so tenders require suppliers to declare their environmental credentials with some contracts requiring CO2 emissions forming part of the tender evaluation.  The promotion of sustainable hospital food supports the sourcing of local ingredients

Travel and Transport strategy encourages mileage reduction.  Innovatively, staff are paid 20p per mile to commute to work by cycle, and staff-lease cars are graded by carbon emissions encouraging staff to select more environmentally sensible travel including the use of an NHS dedicated Liftshare scheme.  Promoting home working, video web-conferencing and making a Virtual Private Network available to staff, as well as introducing pioneering self-help for patients via the internet, are all aimed at improving work-life balance and reducing travel with a consequent reduction in cost and carbon emissions.

The trust has halved its landfill waste during the last two years.  Recycling forms the major part of this and a new style waste contract soon to be let will improve this further.  Assistance from specialists such as the Energy Saving Trust and the Aquafund support in-house staff.  The aim for all new builds is to meet BREEAM excellent standards and already the trust occupies a building in Lincoln that has the largest array of photovoltaic and solar hot water panels in the County.  The Trust supports partnership working, and to achieve this it includes Service Users, Local Authorities, other Health bodies and environmental organisations on to its very active Green Group which has been set up to monitor progress with the Sustainable Development Action Plan.