3rd June 2021
The Southern Trust has launched its Environmental Sustainability Strategy ahead of World Environment Day this Saturday, June 5.
This ‘green plan’ outlines key environmental priorities over the next five years in areas including estates and utilities, green spaces and biodiversity and waste management.
The Strategy builds on successes so far, with the Trust generating over 310 tonnes of reusable and recyclable materials and a reduction in its carbon footprint by 29%.
Speaking ahead of the launch Helen O’Neill, Director of Finance, Procurement and Estates explained:
“Our Sustainability Strategy sets out our approach to a more viable future and has been developed to give an update on what it has been done, where we are now and plans up to 2026 and beyond. We’re putting environmental issues at the heart of our work.
“As a large organisation with thousands of staff and a vast estate, we want to be at the forefront of delivering sustainable healthcare, one of the Trust’s objectives is to support people to live, long, healthy, active lives, this means building a healthcare system that cares for people and the planet.
“Through this strategy, we will take a proactive approach to environmental management, maximising the benefits for our service users, staff, visitors, contractors and others,” she said.
Mark Bloomer, Assistant Director of Estates outlines some of the actions the Trust is taking to achieve a more sustainable future:
“We plan to introduce more ‘green fleets’ across our organisation, ensuring that any new vehicles are electric or hybrid with a gradual phasing out of diesel engines. We’re exploring the roll-out of electric charging points for staff and visitors across our sites and we want to support staff to think of alternative options for travel to and from work.
He added: “We also want to further develop well-designed green spaces, which connect our buildings across the Trust to the natural environment. This not only improves patient and service user experience across our facilities but is also a welcoming place for our staff and visitors.