Responsible Director: / Alex McIntyre, Director of Facilities
Approved By: / Sustainability P.I.G.
Date Approved:
Date for Review: / 5th January 2011
Replaces Previous Version: / N/A
ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY STATEMENT
NHS Greater Glasgow & Clyde is committed to playing its part in the development of a sustainable future for Scotland in the way we use resources, plan and develop services and deliver effective and efficient healthcare to the local community.
To this end the Health Board acknowledges that they have a responsibility to consider the environmental implications of our corporate business strategy and to support policies and programmes that will provide a responsible approach to the management of the activities we undertake.
Our principal aim is to identify how and where we do or could impact on the environment and to implement environmentally responsible practices and procedures in order to reduce the overall impact of our activities and future development. This can best be achieved by a combination of improving our working practices, harnessing the efforts of our staff by improving awareness of the issues and an on-going commitment to the pursuance of technical improvements.
As part of our commitment to the environment, this policy statement has been prepared to enable the Board to set targets by which continuous environmental improvement can be measured.
As a measure of its commitment the Board will:
- Comply with and strive to exceed all legislative requirements and support the Scottish Executive’s sustainable development objectives.
- Designate a Senior Board member as an Environmental Champion.
- Demonstrate good environmental practice by adopting the GREENCODE environmental management system.
- Integrate environmental and social considerations into all its business decisions, adopt best practice wherever possible and promote initiatives aimed at conserving natural resources.
- Inform employees regarding the extent of the Board’s environmental impact and motivate and train them where appropriate, to understand and undertake their role in preventing, controlling and reducing that impact.
- Reduce the amount of natural resources used by adopting a carbon management plan.
- Ensure that all new developments meet the excellent rating within the BRE Environmental and Sustainability Standard.
- Set targets for energy and water use at all our sites and invest in appropriate new technology and staff awareness to ensure that targets are achieved.
- Prepare appropriate transport strategies for all major existing sites and new developments in line with the Scottish Executive’s greening transport objectives.
- Reduce waste from our sites by the adoption of waste minimisation techniques and by recycling wherever feasible.
- Put in place measures to ensure that any Contractors working on our site demonstrate an acceptable standard of waste management.
- Procure goods and services on a whole life basis in a way that achieves not only value for money but also generates benefits to society, the economy and the environment
- Ensure that the Board’s environmental performance is periodically audited, reviewed and an annual report prepared and publicly made available to all our stakeholders.
This policy will be made available to all members of staff and the public and will be reviewed annually.
Policy Approved ______(Chief Executive)
Date______