Today, NHS England has announced that all 212 trusts in the country now have a green plan to reduce their impact on the environment.
At University Hospitals Sussex, we published our Patient First Planet First plan in February to show how we are supporting the NHS to become the world’s first net zero health service by 2040.
We will be reducing our carbon footprint by 11,500 tonnes of CO2e* by 2025. You can watch our animation to find out how we are doing this.
With more than 200 other NHS trusts now committed to a similar ambition, over the next three years the NHS will save more than 1 million tonnes of carbon – that’s the same as taking 520,000 cars off the road!
But it’s not just the environmental impact that matters; these plans work to deliver improved patient care, save lives, and reduce costs and waste.
And stories of NHS staff action up and down the country serve to demonstrate this – find out more on the Greener NHS website.
You can also sign up for the Greener NHS newsletter and look out for our regular updates on what we are doing at UHSussex.
* CO2e is a term for describing different harmful greenhouse gases in a common unit. For example, did you know many of the gases used in asthma inhalers and anaesthesia for surgery are much more harmful to the environment than carbon dioxide? At UHSussex, we are committed to reducing use of these gases and finding safer alternatives without ever compromising on the quality of care we provide.