As part of the Trust's ongoing commitment to sustainability it has signed up to Green Impact, being the first Trust providing mental health services to participate in this exciting and innovative programme.
Green Impact is an environmental scheme developed by the National Union of Students (NUS). Used in the higher education sector, it has been tailored for use by healthcare providers, helping people to improve their environmental performance and working environments whilst also gaining recognition for their efforts.
The scheme encourages staff, together with volunteers, patients and service users, to complete the online Green Impact toolkit, which acts as a framework for continual improvement. The toolkit is made up of a variety of environmental actions on issues including food, waste, energy, travel and biodiversity, all of which support the Trust’s overarching aim of delivering sustainable healthcare.
The completed toolkits are then audited by local university students along with volunteers from the Trust’s Involvement Centres, with teams awarded a bronze, silver or gold accreditation in recognition of their achievements.
Dean Fathers, Trust Chair, said: “Nottinghamshire Healthcare has been at the forefront of environmental improvements for a long time and has won several awards in recognition of this work. I’m delighted that we’re supporting the Green Impact programme. The importance of this cannot be overestimated and we are encouraging all our staff to back this initiative and to support the fantastic work taking place to continue to make our Trust environmentally sustainable.”
A range of information and online resources is provided by the Trust and NUS to support teams through the process and help them to improve their environmental performance, as well as celebrate their efforts and achievements, and encourage the sharing of good practice.
How to get involved - Staff can find out more and sign up to Green Impact by visiting Connect. If you are a volunteer, patient or service user please speak to a member of staff about how you can get involved.
Find out more about the Trust’s sustainability work by contacting the Energy and Environment Department at the Trust on environment@nottshc.nhs.uk
Join the conversation on Twitter at #GreenImpact @NottsHealthcare