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Sustainable development activities

  • Last modified date:
    9 February 2007

The Department continues to develop its links with others working on sustainable development across Government and more widely.

The Department continues to develop its links with others working on sustainable development across Government and more widely.

For example, we liaise closely with Defra (which leads on sustainable development for Government) and contribute to many cross-government initiatives such as the development of Integrated Policy Appraisal.  Partnership working with the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC) continues to develop, and Dr Anna Coote, SDC Lead Health Commissioner recently met Melanie Johnson, Minister for Public Health.

The Department has a good record on the environmental management of its own estate, and continues to seek ways of improving its performance.  For several years we have directly purchased renewable energy for our London administrative buildings; in the current year this will effectively reduce carbon emissions by 15% per annum.

We have introduced Environmental Management systems (EMS) in our three main London buildings.  We have recently put in place a web-based system for recording and monitoring our environmental performance, which will improve the Department's ability to track and report progress against targets.

More information of the Department's operational activity is given in the Targets pages.  A flavour of the current activity in our two main Agencies is set out below:

NHS Purchasing and Supply Agency (NHS PASA)

NHS PASA has put forward its own vision of sustainable development as it applies to healthcare:

'The Agency is committed to the principles of sustainable development. It will progressively integrate these principles into its daily activities. Through its work with the Department of Health and other Government departments, it will seek to increase awareness of sustainable development within the NHS supply chain and to ensure that wherever possible, NHS purchasing and supply activities support the achievement of sustainable development objectives.'

Comprehensive advice and practical guidance on sustainable development for healthcare purchasing and supply professionals and suppliers to the NHS is available on the PASA website.  The Agency also publishes an annual sustainability report which details its work and progress in this area. 

The Agency has produced a guidance document on developing and implementing an environmental purchasing strategy, as required under the New Environmental Strategy for the NHS. Also available is a practitioners' handbook on environmental purchasing. In 2005, the Agency will be offering training courses on sustainable procurement to NHS purchasing and supply professionals.

Estates and facilities management in the NHS

Advice and guidance on sustainable development and environmental issues is available to the NHS, including information on: sustainability, energy, waste, water, and transport, construction and NEAT (NHS Environmental Assessment Tool).  NEAT is in two parts - (1) existing estate; (2) new builds and refurbishments.  NHS trusts involved with a capital development programme, whether publicly or privately procured, will produce an 'Excellent' score for new builds, or 'Very Good' for refurbishments as part of the business case approvals process.

April 2001: new mandatory energy/carbon efficiency targets were set on the NHS to achieve 15% energy / 0.15 million tonnes carbon efficiency savings between March 2000 and March 2010.

An environmental pack has been issued to the NHS, consisting of:

  • A New Environmental Strategy for the NHS
  • Sustainable Development in the NHS - guidance
  • NHS Environmental Assessment Tool - software.

The Agency has recently issued two further guidance documents:

  • Carbon/energy management in healthcare - best practice advice for the NHS in England on meeting the mandatory carbon/energy targets - March 2000-March 2010
  • Total waste management - best practice advice on local waste management for the NHS in England

Further work is in hand to rewrite:

  • Encode - in partnership with the Carbon Trust and the Devolved Administrations
  • Safe disposal of clinical waste - in partnership with Defra, EA, HSE and the Devolved Administrations
  • And to produce a guidance document on Transport and car park management for the NHS in England.

The Sustainable Development Policy Manager continues to give presentations at conferences and seminars on a national, regional and local basis as a means of communicating with the NHS and those who work with and for the NHS to raise awareness.

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