NHS Scotland: Setting the Standard in Supplies
Added: (Thu Aug 09 2007)
Pressbox (Press Release) -
NHS Scotland: Setting the Standard in Supplies
August 9, 2007
The Low Carbon Innovation Network spoke to their members working for the Common Services Agency of NHS Scotland to find out more on their a strong focus on the environmental friendliness of their supplies to combat the challenge to become more energy efficient.
The board of the Common Services Agency (CSA) heavily supports the policy and all divisions within this organisation. Suppliers have to contend with the environmental regulations emplaced by the policy, and if they fail to reach the targets then they will be unable to supply their products to the organisation.
Lynn Cree, Environmental Health Advisor within Health Protection Scotland, explained that the reasoning behind the policy is to facilitate the organisation’s ambition to achieve the government set target of a 15% reduction of carbon emissions by 2010. Lynn Cree commented: “we identified about ten policy principles that we would be expecting to address when procuring products, making sure that the suppliers meet the required standards”.
“In terms of implementing the policy, all divisions of the organisation are required to go through a common purchasing process.” Said Cree. Following this procedure, the information is passed down to all the members of staff in each division, giving each department a responsibility to keep their staff on top of the situation. “A delegating system was introduced to great effect to achieve this, and also information on how departments were dealing with the policy was passed through the internet using a shared idea system.”
All the equipment purchased by Health Protection Scotland, markedly reducing their carbon emissions, is now meeting the policy. Although the organisation is happy with the outcome of the policy so far, a method of improving its success suggested by Lynn Cree is for “staff to receive feedback on how their actions are having an effect in relation to the policy”. This would help staff recognise how they are integral to the organisation’s overall carbon footprint.
The future of the policy depends entirely on the government, as if national targets are changed, the policy will have to change with it. Nonetheless, the rules over suppliers have been a success in lowering Health Protection Scotland’s carbon emissions, fundamentally making the organisation ‘greener’.
The Low Carbon Innovation Network, the best practice forum for those involved in reducing carbon emissions.
Support for this free-to-join Network comes from over 15 trade associations and professional institutes. Members receive a weekly Bulletin of case studies to share best practice and can participate in networking events to progress their own plans for carbon reduction initiatives.
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For further information please contact: Lawrence Smith, Communications, Low Carbon Innovation Network, +44 (0) 1883 344 799,
Lawrence@carbon-innovation.com