Published this week, the organisation's annual sustainability report for 2010, entitled Focus on Sustainability, shows it has made significant enhancements in a number of key areas including waste, water, transport, internal procurement and staff travel.
And this work has led to an overall 14% reduction in CO2 tonnes per £1m revenue, compared to baseline figures from 2008.
A spokesman for the organisation said: “NHS Supply Chain recognises the importance of sustainable development in creating a better quality of life now and for future generations. We are committed to sustainability and strive to ensure that our activity takes full consideration of the environmental, social and economic impacts of our business.
“By working closely with our customers and suppliers we can ensure opportunities for improvement both up and down the supply chain are realised to their full potential. We aim to maximise sustainable value to the NHS, reduce our impact on the environment and society and improve local communities and the lives of our employees.”
Covering the whole of 2010, the report outlines the developments in each area, setting out action for the current year. It shows that the business has achieved a 16% reduction in absolute gas consumption compared to the 2008 baseline, and a 6% reduction in absolute electricity consumption across all its distribution centres. This puts it well on the way to its targets of 17% and 10% respectively.
Other achievements in 2010 include:
- A 44,277kwh saving on electricity following the upgrade of heating and cooling systems at the Alfreton distribution centre
- A 20% reduction in electricity consumption – equal to 167 tonnes – at the Maidstone unit following a relighting scheme
- A reduction in electricity from 500W an hour to 6W an hour following an LED lighting trial in the loading bay
- Achieving an overall recycling rate of 73%
- A 17% reduction in waste per £1m revenue
- A 14% reduction in water use per person through improved management of the machines used to clean recyclable tote boxes
Transport has also been a key focus area. During 2010 the company ran a three-month trial of the world’s first 18-tonne distribution vehicle as part of a wider two-year project with Deutsche Post DHL. In addition, it replaced 118 of its fleet vehicles to Euro 5-standard models, improving emissions ratings from Euro 3 to Euro 5; and has limited all new vehicles to a top speed of 53mph as well as fitting them with cruise control, laser-aligned axles and air deflector kits to reduce wind noise from turbulence and save fuel. And it has targeted staff with a driver training programme exploring more fuel-efficient motoring techniques.
These measures have resulted in a 16% reduction in tonnes of carbon generated by transport compared to 2008 levels, a total of 324 tonnes down on 2009.
Internal procurement procedures have come under the spotlight as well, with the introduction of 100% recycled paper and remanufactured toner cartridges; and a cycle to work scheme is helping to reduce the impact of staff journeys.
As well as changing its own practices, NHS SC is working with its suppliers to make significant changes to their product ranges. This has included drafting new packaging guidance aimed at cutting waste, reducing packaging on 38 products and reviewing unit number in each pack. For example, recent changes to the European Union standard for examination gloves has enabled suppliers to manufacture thinner gloves which, while offering adequate protection to users, also allows for a reduction in packaging and the ability to put more gloves in each box.
Projects planned in the current year, which aim to achieve a further 2% reduction in carbon emissions, include:
- Relighting warehouses and mezzanine floor areas at Alfreton, Bridgwater and Normanton to save 735 tonnes of carbon or 1,364,000kwh of energy
- Replacing mechanical handling equipment at five centres to improve energy consumption through increased battery power and energy reclamation features
- Rolling out LED lighting across the network
- Increasing overall recycling to 75%
- Exploring opportunities for composting food waste at sites with canteens
- Replacing curtain-sided trucks with tear-dropped boxed trailers for improved aerodynamics
- Undertaking a trial of Fitch Fuel Catalysts on nine vehicles in a bid to test the claim of a 5% reduction in emissions
- Introducing Jetpia exhaust technology to 24 vans
- Rolling out a web conferencing tool to achieve a reduction in staff travel
- Expanding the range of fair trade products
- Building ethical trading criteria into evaluation and contract awards
- Undertaking a review to identify the five most carbon-intensive products
Nick Gerrard, NHS SC chief executive, said: “Our targets for this year are challenging, but they are an expression of our confidence that we can still make big advanced in sustainability over the coming year, both for our own business and for our customers.”
Currently the business has 1,000 customers in the healthcare sector and 620,000 available products. It employs 2,560 people and in 2010 took 4.7 million orders and 300,000 service calls.
