Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has teamed up with some of the city’s biggest names to further its ambitions to become carbon neutral by 2030.
The Trust, which runs Hull Royal Infirmary and Castle Hill Hospital in Cottingham, has joined ‘Oh Yes! Net Zero’, the Hull Net Zero Collaborative which seeks to deliver a low carbon economy with the support of local business, organisations and individuals.
Now joining the likes of Reckitt, the University of Hull, CBI and Cranswick plc, the Trust is reinforcing its commitment to reduce its carbon footprint and work with colleagues across both public and private sectors to create a greener city for all.
Chris Long, chief executive of Hull University Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust says:
“Our trust is one of the biggest employers in Hull, with over 10,000 staff and a range of services which operate round-the-clock.
“We know that we could achieve significant levels of carbon reduction on our own, and have ambitious plans to do so, but the pace at which we can deliver that, with the support and insight of partners across the city, now makes this infinitely more achievable.”
The Trust’s £4.5m ‘Field of Dreams’, consisting of 11,000 solar panels, is already in place in Cottingham and has started to generate electricity for the Castle Hill Hospital site. As part of its ZeroThirty ambitions, the Trust has committed to achieving a number of additional self-made targets, including:
- Sending nothing to landfill by 2025
- Reducing anaesthetic gas emissions by 50 per cent by 2025
- Cutting building emissions in half by 2028
Dr Kim Caines, an anaesthetic registrar for the Trust, says:
“There are so many opportunities within surgery and surgical theatres to reduce our environmental impact, from the types of gases we use to disposal of waste and much more.
“Anaesthetic gases make up 2% of all NHS emissions, which might not sound like a lot but is actually huge. Consider how many operations are carried out across the health service every day, and then consider that one of our anaesthetic gases, desflurane, has the same global warming effect as burning 440kg of coal in just one bottle. The scale of the problem really is huge, but reducing just some of our anaesthetic gas usage could really benefit the world around us.”
Chris Long (centre) visits the Trust’s £4.5m ‘Field of Dreams’ with President of COP26, Rt Alok Sharma MP (left) and Alex Best, Head of Capital
Chris adds:
“Forty per cent of all carbon emissions in the NHS come from acute trusts like ours, and that comes in many forms, from transporting food and heating our wards to washing bed linen, sedating patients and staff travel to work.
“If we’re going to safeguard our city and our environment for the generations to come, we have to see beyond the here and now. For a challenge as big as climate change, we know every little helps, but we also know there’s strength in numbers, and we’re really proud to be part of this emerging and exciting movement for change.”
Patty O’Hayer, Reckitt’s Global Head of External Communications & Affairs adds:
“Our aim with Oh Yes! is to encourage collaboration and knowledge sharing to accelerate Hull’s progress toward net zero. Cooperation is vital. Businesses, working alone, can’t get us there. Nor can local authorities. We need everyone in the city to buy into the plan and work together: companies large and small; hospitals and schools; children, adults, families. Only a collective effort will do it.”
Organisations and individuals across the city region are all being asked to sign up and support the campaign via www.ohyesnetzero.co.uk and to follow the new social media channels @ohyesnetzero for the latest tips and advice about reducing carbon emissions at home and work.