The Government launched on 29 May 2008 a consultation exercise on the National Health Service carbon reduction strategy.

The NHS is Europe’s largest employer with 1.3 million people, or 5 per cent. of the United Kingdom workforce, and is often the largest single employer in each of the regions of England. Given its size, the NHS in England is responsible for nearly 3 per cent. of UK carbon dioxide emissions and 30 per cent. of public sector emissions.

In the ten years from 1990 to 2000, the NHS successfully reduced its building energy use by 20 per cent. As part of the Government’s climate change programme 1998-99, some early targets on NHS carbon reduction from building energy use were set for NHS trusts to reduce energy consumption and improve energy efficiency.

The NHS has already made good progress, but there is still much to be done. In the ten years from 1990 to 2000, the NHS successfully reduced its building energy use by 20 per cent.

The strategy recognises that the NHS has done much good work in increasing its sustainability, but also recognises that much more can be done.

The purpose of the strategy is to:

increase understanding about the NHS contribution to climate change and the immediate and long-term benefits to healthcare that can be gained from actively managing carbon emissions;

establish board level leadership on carbon reduction in the NHS; establish stretching, but achievable, measures for carbon reduction; describe proposed national, regional and local action to support carbon reduction;

give practical evidence-based and systematic advice on the means to improve the sustainability of NHS operations by evaluating and sharing good practice; and

provide a framework to monitor, evaluate and report progress, and ensure policy promotes a low carbon NHS.

The core of this strategy is action. It has highlighted the ten achievable, practical and sustainability-improving actions to win. The top ten actions are:

the use of high quality information to help predict different possible trajectories of NHS carbon emissions—an NHS carbon model—to measure progress towards objectives, identify milestones, and guide action;

a board-approved carbon management strategy for all NHS organisations by 2009;

a proposed extension of the energy fund to improve energy efficiency of the existing NHS estate;

all our new buildings to be low carbon by 2015 and meet our ambition of zero carbon by 2018;

a board approved sustainable travel plan for all NHS bodies by 2010;

a target for better waste management to be created and met;

sources of carbon emissions to be cut by improving procurement of goods, services and equipment;

the pricing of carbon at an appropriate level within the NHS in England;

the development and implementation of more effective incentives and policies to support and stimulate real progress on sustainable development; and

all NHS organisations to report annually on a key metric as a part of a simple scorecard of sustainable development indicators, to be considered for performance purposes.

The strategy is the first product of the new NHS sustainable development unit. It forms the first step of a sustainable development programme for the NHS.

Based on the feedback from the consultation responses, expected by 21 August, it is intended that the strategy will be published in the autumn.

“Saving Carbon, Improving Health, a Draft Carbon Reduction Strategy for the NHS in England—a Consultation Document” has been placed in the Library and copies are available to hon. Members from the Vote Office.