Local healthcare provider commits to tackling the climate crisis
To coincide with World Earth Day on Friday 22 April, at South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust (SWFT) we launched our Green Plan to highlight the actions we will be taking to help create a sustainable future.
As a large organisation within the community, we recognise the role we need to play in tackling the climate crisis. Therefore, we are dedicated to embedding environmental and sustainable practices, and committed to achieving net zero carbon for our Carbon Footprint by 2040 and for our Carbon Footprint Plus by 2045.
Sustainability is already a key consideration for the Trust. We recognised the global climate challenges early on and produced our first Carbon Management Plan in 2011. Since then, we have achieved successes including installing our first solar panels in 2012 (with four more installed since), we launched car sharing and cycle to work schemes in 2015, we received our first electric pool vehicles in 2016, designed the new Stratford Hospital in 2017 to meet stringent environmental standards and from April 2021 we have purchased all our electricity from renewable sources.
As we learn more about our environmental impact, our Trust knows that more needs to be done. In order to maximise our successes, we will work in partnership with organisations across Coventry and Warwickshire. However, everyone in our community has a responsibility to help tackle the climate crisis. Examples of how you can help include:
- Switching off all items when not in use
- Using sustainable transport
- Reducing use of single use items
- Reuse and recycling
Sophie Gilkes, South Warwickshire NHS Foundation Trust’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Lead for Sustainability said: “Climate change is a health emergency as well as an environmental one and as such the NHS has committed nationally to be net zero carbon by 2040.
“Our Green Plan highlights our role with this aim by setting out our ambitious goals in order to realise significant change. We have set clear objectives and the steps we will take to deliver them. It covers all areas of the organisation, identifying where we can make a positive impact on environmental, sustainability and wider social issues.
“We all have a responsibility to tackle this climate crisis and therefore I would strongly encourage individuals and households to make positive changes, big or small. It will be a challenge, but through commitment to sustainability, we can improve our personal and collective impact on the world.”
For more information and to view our Trust’s Green Plan visit: www.swft.nhs.uk/about-us/sustainability.
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