Sustainability
Climate change threatens health: nine of the ten hottest years recorded have occurred in the last decade and almost 900 people were killed by heatwaves nationally in 2019. An estimated 4000 deaths occur per year due to air pollution in London alone. Halting climate change is essential to ensuring good health in the population.
NHS emissions make up 4% of England’s carbon footprint, with more than 60% of these emissions originating from the supply chain. Therefore, reducing NHS carbon emissions is integral to reaching the UK’s carbon neutral goal, whilst also improving the populations health, as such the NHS has set two goals:
- Reach net zero carbon emissions by 2040 for emissions controlled directly – known as the NHS Carbon Footprint
- This includes an aim for an 80% reduction by 2028 to 2032
- Reach net zero carbon emissions by 2045 for emissions the NHS can influence – known as the NHS Carbon Footprint Plus
- This includes an aim for an 80% reduction by 2036 to 2039.
To close the gap to become net zero the NHS must remove 6.1 MtCO2e (million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent) from the NHS Carbon Footprint and 24.9 MtCO2e from the NHS Carbon Footprint Plus (this is roughly equivalent to the emissions profile of Croatia).
There are 4 main areas where interventions can be made to reduce emissions:
These are explored in further detail in the ‘More Information’ tab below.
For inquiries relating to sustainability, contact: socialvalue@lpp.nhs.uk
