Trust Net zero carbon roadmap

Since the Paris agreement in 2016, the countries of the united nations have been mobilised to act on the amount of carbon emissions that are being released into our atmosphere. The effects of climate change are far reaching and impact the foundations of population health as well as health on a more individual level. This of course will have direct implications for the operations of Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (BHT), as well as the patients it treats.

Without change there will be increases in the intensity of heatwaves which increase heat stress and related conditions, and heavier precipitation events with increase in associated water borne diseases.

Following the Paris agreement, the UK government has committed to reducing emissions to Net Zero by 2050, with incremental carbon budgets from today until the final target date. Following on from this, the NHS has subsequently produced its Net Zero Roadmap document – ‘Delivering a Net Zero National Health Service’ – setting out its plan for reducing emissions over the next 20-25 years.

The NHS’s carbon emissions are currently equivalent to 4% of England’s total carbon footprint of which the Trust is a typical contributor. Over the last 10 years, the NHS as a whole has implemented measures to reduce its impact on climate change, which will also lead to benefits in clinical outcomes.

The NHS has committed to net zero emissions for the care they provide (NHS Carbon Footprint) by 2040, and zero emissions across their entire scope of emissions (NHS Carbon Footprint Plus) by 2045.

Following on from the NHS’ Net Zero declaration, the Trust commissioned AESG to carry out a similar exercise to understand the carbon footprint of the organisation, and set out a roadmap to reducing emissions inline with the targets set out within the NHS’ overarching net zero roadmap.

Scope

In order to establish the carbon footprint of the Trust and the roadmap to net zero, the scope of emissions that will be included needs to be defined. The categories for the different areas of emissions follows the Greenhouse Gas Protocol (GHGP) scopes as detailed below.

The GHGP scopes cover a wider set emissions and support international comparison and transparency. The 25 scopes are prescribed into 1 of the 3 categories outlined as follows:

•GHGP scope 1: Direct emissions from owned or directly controlled sources, on site
•GHGP scope 2: Indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy, mostly electricity
•GHGP scope 3: All other indirect emissions that occur in producing and transporting goods and services, including the full supply chain.

These targets do not, however, cover the full scope of emissions from the Trust, as there are still some emissions that fall outside these scopes.

Please download and read our Trust Net zero carbon roadmap document to find out more about the scope of the issue and our plans to deliver net zero carbon emissions at Buckinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust.