How effective is sustainability and environmental control in your organisation?
Introduction
It is often the case that when the subject of sustainability or the environment is raised, it is perceived as ‘someone else’s problem’ and not a part of the organisational core business or of the individuals’ ‘day job’. However, this is wrong and any views suggesting that the implementation of sustainable practices is irrelevant or without purpose are sadly misguided. If we are to meet the Climate Change Act (2008) target of reducing the UK carbon footprint by 80% (4 MtCO2) between 1990 and 2050 (NHS Sustainable Development Unit, 2010), full engagement from individuals and organisations will be essential.
Service Condition 18 of the NHS Standard Contract (NHS England, 2016) sets out an expectation that all NHS Trusts in England put in place a Sustainable Development Management Plan (SDMP) that will set out a framework for how sustainable development will be managed. A Sustainable Development Action Plan (SDAP) detailing the specific initiatives and improvements to be undertaken will support this. As an employer of over 1.5 million staff across the UK, the impact that the NHS can have on sustainable development is huge so it remains crucial that the matter is given the attention it demands.
It is important to review the sustainability management arrangements put in place and to consider the thoroughness of those arrangements assessing their effectiveness and outcomes achieved.
The Risks Associated with Sustainable Development
It is possible to separate the risks into management or organisational risks and operational risks. The organisational risks exist where there is a lack of a sustainability management structure and the consequential lack of governance that will follow. The lack of strategy or planning will inevitably mean a lack of reporting so the organisation will, in this eventuality, remain unaware of environmental performance and compliance shortfalls that in turn will make it extremely difficult to plan and fund improvements. Another area is around perceived responsibilities and in many organisations sustainability is thought to sit solely within one department. It is for this reason that many organisations will perform well below the desired levels.
Operationally, the higher risks are within waste management, procurement, travel and energy consumption (fossil fuels). The costs and fines imposable where waste is poorly or incorrectly segregated (if at all) can be significant but are easily avoided. Commuting and business travel will, again, incur significant but avoidable costs not to mention high carbon emissions and lost time. Most significantly though, goods procured from unsustainable suppliers will generate the largest carbon footprint of all of these.
Sustainable Development Management Plan
The SDMP must set out a high level strategic framework within which improved environmental performance could be planned, implemented monitored and reported. The plan should identify several key mechanisms through which this could be achieved.
Sustainability Steering Group
From across any organisation, key personnel should be identified as potential members of the steering group with a named organisational lead. The wider group membership should each own improvement actions that relate to their areas of work or responsibility.
Sustainability Dashboard
Monitored on a monthly basis, a sustainability dashboard should be developed to comprise Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) across a wide range of activity including energy consumption, waste management, business mileage, water use and Carbon emissions. This will provide an effective mechanism for monitoring operational and seasonal variations as well as longer-term performance against targets.
Green Travel Plan
A Green Travel Plan should not put in place to penalise the motorist but instead look to promote the organisation’s ambitions regarding green travel options, reducing private road travel and implementing IT systems that would enable remote access to meetings and conference calls. The co-benefits will be identified as including a reduction in site congestion, improved staff health and wellbeing, financial savings for staff, reduced community congestion, reduced air and noise pollution and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. In doing this, the plan can strike a keen balance between imposing restrictive measures (increased parking charges, etc.) and promoting positive incentives (discounted bicycle repairs, public transport staff discounts, etc.).
Carbon Measurement Protocol
To support the development of the KPI Dashboard, with particular regard to the Carbon emissions, a protocol should be developed that will allow consistent calculation of the carbon footprint from consumption and data available. The protocol should clearly define the extent of the carbon reporting to include Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions for which the organisation will be directly accountable.
Annual Sustainability Reporting
A very high-level sustainability update should be included in the organisation’s annual report.
Spend to Save Plan
This capital expenditure (Capex) plan should highlighted opportunities for the organisation to reduce its carbon footprint through plant and system upgrades which included installation of LED lighting and controls, retro-fitting of variable speed drives (to pumps and fans), replacement of oversized calorifiers with plate heat exchangers, pipework insulation and Combined Heat and Power (CHP), etc.
Sustainability Awareness Campaign
An on-going sustainability awareness campaign should be launched to include waste training for staff, energy reduction ‘top tips’ and posters and a Sustainability Day event all supported by departmental sustainability champions.
Compliance with Legal Requirements
The SDMP will set out the organisation’s commitment to meeting its statutory requirements including those relating to the Carbon Reduction Commitment (CRC) Energy Efficiency Scheme and waste management.
Conclusion
With an SDMP embedded, we can begin to seek out clear improvements that can be made regarding the documentation, structure and reporting within organisations. As we continue to move through the Anthropocene era, focus must be sharpened in order to improve the triple bottom line by ensuring that sustainable solution can be sought to ensure environmental, economic and social stability and parity. Only this way will we begin to significantly realise the potential health and climate co-benefits, one example of which would be a reduction in respiratory diseases resulting from a reduction in air pollution.
Furthermore, improvements to the SDMP should seek to fall in line with the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (2015) and by doing do, their SDMPs will be greatly improved and far more effective in meeting the targets set out at the head of this review.
References
NHS England (2016). NHS Standard Contract 2017/18 and 2018/19 Service Conditions.
NHS Sustainable Development Unit (2010). Save Money by Saving Carbon.