Green Plan: With climate change labelled the greatest threat to health in the 21st century by medical journal The Lancet, in March 2020 CNTW’s Board joined a growing number of NHS organisations in declaring a ‘climate and ecological emergency’. sets out how the Trust aims to reduce its carbon emissions to ‘net zero’ by 2040, and actions it will take to meet other sustainability goals by 2026. NTW Solutions, a wholly owned Subsidiary Company of CNTW which provides estates, facilities, finance, workforce and procurement services to the Trust, is also signed up to the Green Plan and will be integral to achieving its goals. Ken Jarrold CBE, Chair of the Council of Governors and Board of Directors at CNTW, said of the plans: “We recognise our responsibility to deliver our services in a sustainable way which meets the needs of the people who need our services today, while minimising harm to future generations. Our new Green Plan sets out how we are going to do this. We believe that by focussing on hope and opportunities for change and recovery, in line with our Trust’s core values, together we can make a positive impact.” So far, the Trust has switched to purchasing 100% renewable energy, achieved a 70% reduction in single-use plastic in the Trust’s canteens and cafes, significantly increased recycling facilities, reviewed procurement processes and supply chains to ensure ecological and environmental impacts are considered, reduced energy consumption, and made changes to make the sites more nature-friendly and biodiverse.
‘Sam’s story’: Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust have created an animation to accompany their Green Plan, illustrating their vision of what working at the Trust in a sustainable future could look like. It follows Sam’s life from 2021 to 2050, seeing how things change throughout their career as the Trust works towards its Green Plan goals and adapts to the impacts of climate change. You can watch it here.
Pharmacy team: Since the Board at Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust officially recognised the ‘climate and ecological emergency’ in 2020, and launched its ‘Green Plan’ in April 2021, teams across the Trust have made big changes to make their work more sustainable. One of these is the Pharmacy team, who in March 2020 began using an electric vehicle as a ‘pool car’ for their department, and added a second electric pool car in December 2021. The introduction of these electric pool cars has slashed the carbon footprint of staff’s important journeys between hospital sites in Newcastle, Carlisle and Whitehaven. Since March 2020, Pharmacy staff have travelled approximately 28,000 miles to support teams around the Trust. Adopting electric pool cars for these journeys has saved approximately 7.85 tonnes of carbon dioxide from being emitted - that’s enough to fill almost eight hot-air balloons. And the team are now on track to save even more energy thanks to new energy-saving upgrades to their building.
Tree planting: Over the last year and a half, staff and volunteers planted more than 1,250 trees across sites managed by Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust thanks to the NHS Forest project. The trees have been planted in carefully chosen areas as part of a wider plan for improving the biodiversity of the Trust’s green spaces, developed with a local ecologist. Not only will this obviously have an environmental benefit, but it will also create lots more opportunities for patients, staff and local communities to connect with nature, which has proven wellbeing benefits. Once mature, the trees have the potential to absorb more than 26 tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere every year.
