NHS Property Services (NHSPS) has signed two new energy contracts via Inspired Energy to power its portfolio with 100% renewable power.
British Gas will provide 100% renewable electricity and Corona will provide natural gas to all their properties across England by April 2020.
NHSPS is responsible for around 11 per cent of the NHS estate, totalling more than 34 million sq ft, with over 3,500 properties and 5,000 employees, and is committed to actively making its sites more environmentally friendly.
As well as switching to 100% renewable electricity by April 2020, NHSPS is also committing £1.5m in 2019/20 towards an LED upgrade programme, among other measures.
Investors in Inspired Energy include Gresham House Asset Management, Miton Asset Management, Invesco and Artemis.
By moving to 100% renewable electricity, NHSPS will offset over 40,000 tonnes of CO2 per year, demonstrating its dedication to tackling climate change while promoting sustainable practices with all its buildings.
The use of renewable electricity will not increase costs to either NHSPS tenants or NHSPS itself, according to the property and asset manager.
The company said that the implementation of a new procurement strategy, as part of the new contracts, will enable it to deliver some of the best prices in the market, while managing risk and maintaining budget certainty.
The move follows the launch of the ‘For a greener NHS’ campaign and forms part of NHSPS helping to transform the NHS estate so that it can provide sustainably run buildings that help to deliver excellent patient care.
The NHS is currently responsible for around 4-5% of the UK’s carbon footprint. In September 2019, Simon Stevens, Chief Executive of NHS England, said the NHS would be accelerating its efforts to tackle climate change with a series of coordinated measures to reduce its carbon output – saying that the health service should also embolden staff to lead discussions with the public about wider measures needed to address climate change.
As well as being responsible for over 11% of the NHS estate itself, NHSPS provides property and facilities management expertise to the NHS. At a time of major change and increasing demand for the NHS, NHS Property Services is reducing costs, creating a more fit for purpose estate and generating vital funds, all of which are reinvested back into the NHS estate to support improvements in frontline patient care.
Commenting on the deal, Martin Steele, Chief Operating Officer at NHS Property Services, said: “Switching to 100% renewable electricity for all our buildings is a landmark moment in efforts to transform our NHS portfolio into a sustainable estate.”
According to BuzzVestor Media research, there is a gap in the UK market for facilities management specialists geared up to handle a one-size-fits-all service for public and private sector companies to make their facilities carbon neutral.
The company’s portfolio consists of 3,500 properties – worth over £3bn – which represents over 10 per cent of the entire NHS estate. The vast majority of the sites are used for clinical, local healthcare and fall into one of three categories: Health centres and GP surgeries; Hospitals/hospital-related properties; or Offices.
