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Working towards environmental sustainability
Posted: 25 September 2023
Find out how East Cheshire Hospice has started an Environmental and Sustainability Group to help make sure their organisation is environmentally sustainable.
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About this innovation example
Title
About this innovation example
This page takes around 5 minutes to read.
Project and outcomes
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Project overview
In 2022, East Cheshire Hospice won the ‘Progress Towards Carbon Neutrality’ prize at the East Cheshire Chamber of Commerce Awards. This was awarded for their work on a campaign to raise money for solar panels at the hospice.
The campaign started as a way to save money on energy costs, but it sparked a movement within the hospice to be more sustainable.
The hospice set up an Environmental and Sustainability Group, which has managed to implement a number of changes to the way the hospice operates.
Outcomes
A lot of the group’s initial work has been to raise awareness about the good practice that already goes on at the hospice.
A survey revealed that staff weren’t very aware of the sustainable practices that were already in place. For example, there was a perception that the hospice didn’t recycle because most rubbish went into the same bin. However, the hospice was already employing a company to sort all recycling off-site.
The group has implemented lots of small, practical changes:
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The team have stuck labels on plug sockets and switches to indicate which can safely be turned off and which need to stay on. This helps staff members feel more able to turn switches off without worrying they are connected to important clinical equipment.
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The hospice has removed dates from their event banners so they can be re-used year upon year.
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Hospice fundraising events now use recyclable wooden medals rather than plastic ones.
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The hospice no longer produces event-specific t-shirts. There is instead a pool of generic t-shirts that can be used at any event. This helps to prevent t-shirts going to waste if they aren't used for an event, saving water that is used in their production.
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The group has been issuing an online calendar to staff and volunteers, which contains ideas for monthly environmental actions they could do. The calendar also provides monthly 'environmental challenges', for example challenging staff to donate something they were planning to throw away.
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The hospice employs an external company to sort and recycle unusable donations at hospice shops. Not even the hangers go to landfill!
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The annual Christmas tree recycling scheme helps prevent old Christmas trees from going to landfill. The hospice has permission to use the local council's mulching facilities. The mulch can then be used in local parks and playgrounds, as well as for biofuel.
Facilitators, challenges and advice
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Key facilitators
Volunteers have offered environmental expertise to the hospice. One volunteer was heavily involved in gaining green lab certification at a large pharmaceutical company. She was able to put the hospice in touch with the company, who helped produce leaflets and stickers to raise environmental awareness.
Winning the award has helped raise the profile of the hospice’s environmental sustainability work. As a result, the hospice has been approached by several organisations that can provide useful environmental services. One company has offered to install a device that reduces electricity usage free of charge. This could produce savings for the hospice of about £200,000 a year and would usually cost around £25,000 to install.
There was an overwhelmingly positive response from hospice staff to the project, and people from a range of departments have been keen to get involved. For example, the facilities manager has been invaluable in helping to source environmentally sustainable products.
One of the hospice’s trustees works in environmental sustainability and has joined the group. It has been really useful to have such high-level backing.
Challenges
Changing ingrained ways of working and breaking bad environmental habits can be difficult, particularly in clinical areas. Clinicians often use lots of electricity, water and single use personal protective equipment (PPE) to comply with infection prevention and control guidelines.
To tackle this, the group has worked to help clinical staff understand how they can use lower levels of these resources, while still following guidelines. It’s also important to highlight why people should cut down.
The hospice had one supporter who was against the idea of raising money for solar panels, instead of using funds to improve patient care. To overcome this, the hospice explained how environmental work can benefit patient care in the long run. Because solar panels help reduce the cost of electricity bills, more of the hospice’s income can go directly to patient care.
The Environmental and Sustainability Group realised early on that some environmental issues are out of their hands. Sadly, these things can have quite a big impact. They try not to be discouraged by this and focus on what they can control. For example, the hospice can’t choose its PPE supplier, as this is arranged via the NHS. But it can take steps to reduce overuse.
Tips and advice
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Don't be afraid to start small – even little things can help move your hospice in the right direction. It’s about putting things in perspective. If you look solely at the big picture, it can be a bit overwhelming.
Ask for support when you need it - acknowledge when you aren't the experts and know when it would be helpful to go externally
There are a lot of people that really care about environmental issues, who may not normally volunteer their time at a hospice charity. Be loud about your environmental work to take advantage of this.
Find people who are really passionate about environmental issues to lead this work at your hospice.
Have a regular schedule of meetings. This gives people the chance to raise issues and ideas without having to organise a meeting themselves. Make sure your meetings set actions and goals for the organisation to work towards. This keeps the ball rolling.
People are willing to do lots of things for free if you ask them. For example, a local environmental company is going to carry out an environmental audit for the hospice, free of charge. If the group had approached the company as a client, it would have cost around two thousand pounds.
Future developments
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The hospice is looking forward to putting up the solar panels that were paid for by the funding appeal. The building already has some solar panels, which are used to charge an electric car that is part of the Hospice at Home fleet. Eventually, the team aims to make all of the Hospice at Home fleet electric.
The hospice is in talks to create a kitchen garden, which would mean they could grow their own vegetables and herbs for the catering team. Patients and carers would also be able to get involved in gardening.
The hospice is redeveloping its Day Care and Wellbeing Services unit. The design team is being supported by the Board to make sure the build is environmentally sustainable. This includes using as many sustainable materials as possible.
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