Dr. Tahsin Choudhury, Innovation Manager, NHS Innovations South East

Introduction

Climate change represents the most widespread and pressing environmental concern of our time. Organisations across all sectors are coming under pressure to monitor, report, and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions or ‘footprint’. However, many private and public sector organisations are also discovering that managing emissions can lead to cost savings.

What is a carbon footprint?

A carbon footprint is simply a quantification of the impact human activities have on the environment by assessing the emissions of the six green house gases which contribute to Climate Change and expressed in terms of metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent. The scope or range of a carbon footprint can be as wide or narrow as desired, and should at the minimum include both ‘direct’ (e.g. emissions which the organisation has direct control over such as company cars) and ‘indirect’ emissions (e.g. from purchased electricity or heat).

A carbon footprint provides the basis for identifying emission reduction opportunities and is an essential first step in developing a sustainable climate change strategy.

What is carbon offsetting?

A “carbon offset” or “carbon credit” is an emission reduction credit that results in less carbon dioxide or other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere than would otherwise occur. This is based on the principle that greenhouse gases mix freely in the atmosphere and have the same impact on climate change wherever they are emitted. Thus a reduction in emissions in one place can be considered to offset the same amount of emissions elsewhere. One carbon credit is equivalent to one tonne of carbon dioxide reduced.

What can the NHS do to reduce their carbon footprint?

As the UK’s largest employer and a key generator of carbon emissions the NHS must act now in the fight against climate change.

Indeed this has been recognized by The Department of Health who wants the NHS as a whole to cut its emissions by 150,000 tonnes by 2010.

Ironically, not only does the NHS contribute to Climate Change but it will also have to deal with the affects of it on public health.

An individual Trust’s carbon footprint can be decreased by carbon emissions reductions involving the implementation of energy efficiency initiatives in the following areas:

• waste
• transport
• buildings