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Stockport NHS Foundation Trust has agreed to go ahead with a major new plan for the borough’s health services to go carbon neutral and lead the way on green initiatives.
The Green Plan was officially ratified by the trust’s board, setting out commitments to protect the environment, both as a major employer and large organisation within Stockport, and within its remit to improve the health and wellbeing of local residents.
Plans propose bold targets to reduce the trust’s CO2 emissions to net-zero by 2040, as well as a range of other initiatives to protect the environment. Ambitions set out in the Green Plan include:
- Reducing greenhouse emissions by 85% by 2032,
- a 75% cut in business travel emissions by 2030,
- cutting out sending waste to landfill sites,
- all trust vehicles being converted to ultra low or zero emission,
- phasing out single use plastics,
- purchases taking into account ‘social value weighting’ (assessing the environmental impact of all new products),
- and achieving a ‘net zero’ carbon footprint by 2040
Recent steps already taken have included the introduction of four new electric vans, which are now transporting goods such as prescriptions, post and pathology samples to and from the hospital, reducing the carbon emissions released on the road. New charge points for visitor and staff electric vehicles have also been installed. Other projects have included those around waste management, with a number of new recycling stations placed across the hospital site.
Paul Featherstone, Director of Estates for Stockport NHS Foundation Trust said
“We are the second largest employer in Stockport, and we are committed to improving the health of our local population, both of which make tackling climate change and other environmental threats vital. Our new Green Plan sets out a very clear set of goals which we intend to meet so we can live up to this responsibility. We’ve already made a positive start, and we intend to build on these achievements in the coming years to make sure we’re looking after both the local and the global environment. ”
Stockport NHS Foundation Trust operate Stepping Hill Hospital in Hazel Grove, as well as community NHS services throughout the borough. The trust’s Green Plan is published in full on the organisation’s website.