In 2023, Health Innovation North East North Cumbria (HI NENC), joined other health and care organisations in the region to declare a climate emergency. Following this, HI NENC has aligned its sustainability plans with ambitious targets from the North East and North Cumbria Integrated Care Board (ICB) to become the greenest and healthiest region in England by 2030. This work supports wider targets set out by NHS England, to become Net Zero by 2045.

Since then, HI NENC has been working with the 11 NHS Trusts in the NENC region to reduce their carbon footprint and drive towards a greener and more sustainable NHS.

In this blog post, Peter Lillie, Sustainability Lead for HI NENC, shares the work he has been doing to facilitate regional workshops with NHS Sustainability leads, to align with the North East and North Cumbria (NENC) NHS Trusts Regional Sustainability Priorities.

What challenges did aligning with the NENC NHS Trusts Regional Sustainability Priorities set out to overcome?

It was identified that nearly half of NHS Plus emissions stemmed from three primary areas: medicines and chemicals, building energy, and travel. Additionally, another third came from business services, medical, and non-medical equipment. We also noted a lack of a common approach and knowledge gaps between Trusts. If we could bring the Trusts together to reduce siloed working and collaborate on solutions to the big three carbon emitters, we could make a real impact on the regional carbon footprint.

How did the aligning with the Priorities aim to address these challenges?

This work aimed to support the regional NHS Trusts in implementing sustainability strategies aligned with NHS England’s drive to Net Zero. It set an ambitious target for the region to become England’s greenest by 2030. The plan sought to bridge knowledge gaps and establish a common approach among Trusts.

What have HI NENC been doing to support this work?

We facilitated interactive workshops with the NHS Sustainability leads, focused on prioritising potential solutions aligned with Net Zero goals. The workshops aimed to establish clear reporting mechanisms, support multi-trust prioritisation, create sub-group reports, and evaluate deliverables from a RAG (Red, Amber, Green) perspective.

What were the outcomes of the workshops facilitated by HI NENC? 

The workshops resulted in the identification of three key priorities for the year ahead: energy procurement, heat decarbonisation planning, and carbon reporting. Regular meetings throughout the year focused on these priorities, leading to dedicated carbon accounting training for energy leads to ensure consistent and transparent reporting.

How did the carbon accounting training benefit the participating Trusts? 

The carbon accounting training provided a better understanding of the technical reporting requirements of the Green House Gas Protocol, enabling consistent carbon reporting across the Integrated Care System (ICS). It improved our ability to benchmark and track progress towards Net Zero goals accurately.

What was the main benefit of the workshops?

The workshops encouraged discussions around common ways of working, fostering a more collaborative approach among multiple Trusts with a shared goal of reducing environmental impact in a standardised and comparable way.

How did HI NENC support the energy sub-group in understanding their priorities and needs? 

We supported and facilitated the energy sub-group in identifying priorities and common ground for collaboration. The workshops helped clarify priorities and direction, enabling the group to develop good practices related to biodiversity and plan actions effectively.

Read the full case study here