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Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust in London spends more than £10 million a year on energy – so finding ways to cut consumption made financial sense as well as helping to cut carbon emissions.

Working with the Carbon Trust, the two hospitals, which treat 750,000 patients every year, aim to knock a fifth off their carbon emissions, with savings of 14,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide already identified.

Good housekeeping and better energy awareness among the 9,500 staff will help reduce energy use, says David Porter, Head of Estates Management at Guy’s and St Thomas’. But the Trust is also investing in improved technology to boost efficiency.

Staff are encouraged to switch off lights, recycle more and think about energy use as they go about their jobs, with posters around the sites and energy-saving messages on the Trust’s intranet. Staff energy reps meet regularly to come up with new ideas.

A £2 million programme is upgrading lighting controls, improving insulation and fitting thermostatic valves on radiators in the hospitals, with estimated annual savings of £1 million. Maintenance staff are looking at how the hospital buildings can be run more efficiently, ensuring that ventilation systems are turned down when units are not in use. Plans to install combined heat and power on both sites will allow the hospitals to generate some of their own electricity, reducing energy bills and carbon emissions significantly.

David Porter says, ‘Everyone can make a contribution, no matter how small each individual action appears. Small changes can add up to significant amounts, both in terms of financial savings and environmental benefits.’