Northumbria Healthcare Introduce EV Fleet to Reduce Emissions
Northumbria Healthcare Facilities Management has recently signed a four-year lease on 18 new electric vehicles (EVs) to help meet Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust’s net zero 2040 target.
The estates and facilities teams rely on having their own fleet of vehicles to carry out day-to-day duties across all of the hospital sites in Northumberland and North Tyneside.
With the current lease from 2018 coming to an end, a review of the fleet identified room to reduce carbon emissions.
Discussions to increase the number of EVs involved head porters, estates and facilities managers to review against their usage and mileage needs to ensure they would continue to meet the needs of the trust.
With over 50% of the incoming fleet being electric, they will be charged overnight at the trust’s hospital sites to cut down on fuel costs.
Dr Clare Winter, head of sustainability at Northumbria Healthcare, said: “We have a responsibility through our Net Zero Northumbria action plan to make improvements to the trust’s sustainability in all aspects of our business in order to meet our net zero 2040 target.
“Making the switch to electric vehicles is just one of the many changes we have made to contribute to cleaner air around our hospitals.”
The trust have issued thanks to Phil Cooper and Leon Xeros from NHS Fleet Solutions for assisting with implementing this change.
The change forms part of Northumbria Healthcare’s broader net zero commitment
This latest scheme comes after Northumbria Healthcare launched a Green Plan strategy in 2022 to tackle their climate change impacts. Their 3-year plan sets out the commitment of the Trust to reaching net zero for our carbon emissions.
Their carbon emission reduction targets are:
- Net zero by 2040 for the carbon emissions that we control. Including reducing fossil fuel use, using green electricity and producing less waste.
- Net zero by 2045 for the carbon emissions that we can influence. This includes encouraging environmentally friendly commuting from our staff. Buying our medicines and equipment from suppliers who also want to reduce their carbon footprint.
From this, the ‘Net Zero Northumbria’ Action Plan was created with 8 main action areas:
- Corporate Approach
- People & Engagement
- Sustainable Healthcare
- Journeys & Clean Air
- Buildings & Estate
- Waste
- Sustainable Procurement
- Greening & Adapting Our Estate
In line with the trust’s ethos of ‘Going Beyond Outstanding’, the trust have said that they aim to go beyond the NHS minimum targets and have a vision of being an NHS leader in the Net Zero challenge.
They have pledged to monitor progress regularly and publish annual reports on their carbon emissions, and work with other NHS hospitals in the North East on sustainability projects to help meet regional targets.
