Health Innovation North West Coast has achieved a 7.8 per cent reduction in carbon emissions for the two-year period ending in 2025.
The organisation is committed to supporting the NHS’s ambition to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2045.
A reduction in business travel accounts for most of the reduction, though employees working from home continues to be the largest contributor to the organisation’s emissions.
Dave Nutter, Net Zero Lead at Health Innovation North West Coast, said colleagues had responded well to requests to better manage their travel habits.
“We’ve focused on business travel because we thought this was the area where we would could achieve the greatest impact most quickly.
“We’ll continue to focus on commuting and on the way we can influence the system we work in. That means helping colleagues in the NHS to identify as potential suppliers those forward-looking companies we’ve already worked with.
“The challenge there is to raise awareness in the health and care system of the companies with strong net zero credentials.
“While our carbon footprint at Health Innovation North West Coast isn’t large, we can have a significant impact on the system we work in. That’s important because we know climate change has an impact on health outcomes.”
Health Innovation North West Coast is developing a Carbon Reduction Plan to meet the national target that requires the organisation to reduce emissions by 4.55 per cent year on year.
The plan sets out how the organisation will measure, manage, and reduce greenhouse gas emissions arising from its operations, programmes, and system-wide influence.
Its system impact is significant because of its design and delivery of innovation and transformation programmes, its influence over procurement, commissioning, and pathway redesign, its work in convening partners from various sectors, and its support for innovations that reduce emissions.
In 2020, the NHS became the world's first national health system to commit to reaching net zero greenhouse gas emissions, and there are two targets:
- Net zero by 2040 for emissions the NHS controls directly
- Net zero by 2045 for emissions the NHS can influence though does not control
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