NHS and net zero

[EmeraldRoulette]

Hello

I was wondering, what posters think about the costs etc involved in decarbonising buildings. I'm just going to focus on this one issue for the purpose of this post.

So this is the idea and the target

https://www.england.nhs.uk/estates/nhs-net-zero-building-standard/

Individual hospital figures are starting to come in as they work on it. I've seen 22 million quoted by one hospital trust.

an example of something that comes up in pursuit of net zero is solar power. This NHS trust has got £6 million to install that.

https://www.healthcare-management.uk/trust-secures-gbp-solar-energy-funding-hospitals

I've suddenly realised that when you go to a hospital and see loads of building work going on, some of it is going to be due to this.

I just wondered how posters feel about this. I don't approve but at this point, politics and the running of the country is so far removed from reality, I tend to shake my head and ignore it.

I think I offended a neighbour the other day when I mentioned something about "green crap" in the context of a client I'd rather not deal with any more. I think she was a bit shocked. But I genuinely feel a bit weird taking on work when I have moral issues with what they do.

So I thought I'd put it out for discussion - hopefully civilised discussion, but obviously I have no control over that! When I talk about green crap or green washing, this is the sort of thing I mean. I genuinely believe it's an exercise in making money - and a totally separate issue from concern about the environment.

I'm open minded and happy to hear what anyone has to say.

thank you for reading what is possibly the most boring post ever 😂

This started under the previous government and has been actively underway for a number of years. You don't have to go too far to find information on why it is so important as healthcare and all it entails is one of the (if not the) most significant contributors to carbon emissions in the UK. It is not just buildings, it is the use of disposable plastics, gas, the manufacture of medicines and materials routinely used in healthcare.

It is such an important issue that I think you would have to look quite hard to find someone who actively works in healthcare and has done so for a while, who isn't supportive of this work. Many hospital estates are deeply outdated and require modernising anyway, so why not aim to make them more sustainable?

Is it hard? Yes. Is there up front investment needed? Yes. Will it save money in the long run? Most likely.

The bigger issue for me, personally, is the notion of net zero. Again, brought in under the previous government. There are real issues with tracking carbon emmissions, and I am hugely sceptical an organisation pumping millions into data centres, new drugs and so on will ever achieve net zero as such. But the ambition is laudable, implementation mote difficult.

@Thingamebobwotsit thank you for replying

I should have said, I do know this has been going on for a while and is not specific to any particular government.

There are two sides to net zero stuff.

One side being the long term sensible stuff that reduces waste in the long run. Insulation, effective heating and ventilation systems, use of passive rather than active controls. Recycling. Good quality reusable materials not rubbish disposables.

Then there’s the daft stuff.

Unfortunately there’s very little differentiation between the two.