King’s Green Plan
We aspire to provide sustainable healthcare for all via our five-year sustainability strategy: Sustainable Healthcare for All – A Green Plan for King’s. Collaborating with our staff, partners and suppliers, we have established a five-year sustainability programme to manage and reduce our environmental impact and deliver continuous sustainability improvement to our staff, patients and wider community.
Sustainability is a golden thread within our Strong Roots, Global Reach strategy, and is a key part of the way we work.
Our Green Plan is designed to enable us to:
- reduce our total carbon emissions (through consumption of fuels, energy and materials consumption)
- improve local air quality
- minimise single-use plastics and improve the reuse, repair and recycling of waste
Our summary report provides an overview of our commitments throughout 2021/22 to kick-start our programme; accelerating carbon reduction and sustainability awareness across the Trust. The Sustainability Steering Group will monitor, implement and manage the delivery of this action plan, working with colleagues across the Trust to implement the actions contained within the plan.
Our green action plan
In order to meet our sustainability ambitions, including net zero carbon by 2040, we have developed a green action plan which sets out our commitments and initiatives:
- Corporate approach – embed the sustainability and net zero carbon agenda within everything we do.
- Asset management and utilities – continue to improve the efficiency of our practices and utilities by adopting green technologies and improving staff awareness.
- Travel and logistics – encourage low-carbon, active travel and virtual alternatives to reduce our carbon and air quality impact.
- Adaptation – embed climate change awareness across the Trust and prepare for extreme weather events and climate change threats.
- Capital projects – facilitate net zero carbon progress through new builds and refurbishments.
- Green space and biodiversity – protect and improve green space across our sites.
- Sustainable care models – implement green care pathways to reduce the environmental impact of the care we provide to our community.
- Our people – embed climate awareness and enable our staff, patients and community to live more sustainable lifestyles.
- Sustainable use of resources – adopt innovative solutions to reduce waste and move towards a circular economy approach to the goods we purchase.
- Carbon emissions and greenhouse gases – identify and target our carbon hotspots to reduce our carbon footprint and achieve our carbon reduction targets.
Roadmap to a greener future
Our new Green Plan sets out our roadmap to a greener future. The Trust has already made strides into moving into a more sustainable world. Our achievements include:
- Energy and water saving measures, including investing in LED lighting.
- Recycling, re-use and plastic-free initiatives to minimise our environmental impact and reduce unnecessary, costly waste.
- Staff and community programmes to support health, wellbeing and inclusion.
- Lambeth GP Food Co-op – a patient-led gardening project encouraging both healthy eating and the physical exercise gained from gardening.
- Free Dr Bike Cycle Mechanic Sessions and establishing an Active Travel Group.
- Partnering with Cross River Partnership (CRP) on their Clean Air Villages project which is running for its third year.
- Purchasing 100% renewable electricity tariff from April 2021.
- Switching to electronic prescribing and purchase-to-pay IT equipment.
- Maximising and improving green spaces in partnership with King’s College Hospital Charity.
- SusQI programme to bring together Quality Improvement using methods to move to more sustainable healthcare, and use tools developed by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare.
- ‘No Meat May’ campaign and an increase in vegetarian and vegan options within our catering menu.
- Switching to low carbon inhalers (DPIs), which have a carbon footprint 18 times lower than metered dose inhalers (MDIs).