As leaders assemble this week in Glasgow at COP26, the world’s largest climate action conference to date, the Northern Care Alliance NHS Foundation Trust has published its newly approved Green Plan.
Approved by the NCA’s Board at the end of September the plan’s release has also been aligned with the launch of the national ‘Healthier Planet, Healthier People’ NHS campaign, designed to increase awareness and understanding of the link between climate change and people’s health, set out the ambition of the NHS to become the world’s first net zero health service by 2040 and celebrate the work already underway to reduce carbon emissions.
The Green Plan signals the NCA’s readiness for change, and outlines the progress made to date around key environmental priorities as well as how the Trust is gearing up to deliver its sustainability strategy, driving research, development, training and improvement across every part of the organisation which delivers healthcare to communities in Bury, Oldham, Rochdale and Salford.
Jude Adams, Chief Delivery Officer for the NCA and Chair of its Sustainability Committee, explained: “As we approach this pivotal moment where world leaders will meet to agree actions which will no doubt impact all of our futures, we are proud to be able to share our Green Plan which describes our commitment and the actions that we are taking to reduce our carbon impact as one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country.
“Climate change threatens the foundations of good health, with direct and immediate consequences for our patients, the public and the NHS. Our Green Plan describes how we are responding directly to the health emergency that climate change represents, demonstrates the progress we’ve made despite the challenges of the pandemic, and describes the actions we will take in relation to carbon, waste, procurement and biodiversity to deliver a net zero NCA by 2040.”
The Green Plan sets out clear decarbonisation targets for the next three years, attached to a number of key areas including travel and transport, procurement, building design and refurbishment, medicines, estates and facilities and food and nutrition.
Heidi Barnard, Head of Sustainability for the NCA, added: “We provide hospital and community health care to around a million people living in communities across Greater Manchester, and will continue to do so for future generations. Our Green Plan outlines our response to the health emergency that climate change brings, and confirms our firm commitment to our local ambitions and targets to delivering a net zero NCA. Every decision we take and every choice we make from this point onwards must contribute to delivering a net zero Northern Care Alliance, and more widely, a net zero NHS.”