Leeds trust becomes NHS' first green project in carbon neutral charge

The Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust has become the first NHS Hospital Trust to officially become Carbon Literate, allowing it to take an important step towards its goal of becoming one of the greenest NHS Trusts in the UK.

Since April the Trust has been working closely with the Carbon Literacy Project in a new initiative to deliver the first Carbon Literacy training specifically focussed on healthcare and the NHS, to help its staff become Carbon Literate.

Libby Sutherland, Environmental Manager at Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, said: “Here at the Trust it’s our Director of Estates and Facilities Craige Richardson and his senior team who have led the way, becoming the first Estates and Facilities team in any NHS Hospital Trust in the UK to have their entire senior management team become officially Carbon Literate.

“The feedback from Craige and his team was very positive, and they found the training really useful and insightful."

Training aims to help Trust staff understand the impacts of climate change in healthcare, breaking them down by sector while helping them learn the big emissions within the NHS and how to best minimise them.

Since starting the training process a further 78 staff have been trained to become Carbon Literate, with the Trust hoping to train up to 30 per cent of staff to reach silver accreditation.

Explaining a little about the training process Craige Richardson, Director of Estates and Facilities at LTHT, said: “Carbon Literacy means being aware of the impact of everyday activities on the climate, and knowing what steps can be taken to reduce emissions, individually, in our teams, or as an organisation.

“The actions of individuals can and do make a difference. Learners who have completed a days’ worth of approved Carbon Literacy learning can be certified as Carbon Literate and we believe this training, this deepening of awareness, is a valuable tool in helping us to become a greener organisation."

The Trust has also invested over £700,000 in upgrading the lighting across the estate to LED, saving an estimated £60,000 a year and reducing its carbon footprint by an estimated 100 tonnes per year.

The efforts of the Trust to become carbon neutral have been recognised nationally with nominations for the Business Green Leaders Employee Engagement Campaign of the Year award and the Energy Efficiency Project of the Year.

Further training is due to be rolled out to other departments later this year.

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