In this Q&A with Simon Duncan, the Director of B2B Solutions at E.ON, he outlines the key considerations for decarbonising the NHS and the public sector
We have one planet, and we all need to protect it, for ourselves and for future generations. We’ve all seen the headlines. The burning of fossil fuels heating and destroying our planet, natural resources depleting, and energy costs spiralling out of control. The good news is that there are solutions for decarbonising the NHS, and the incentives are stacked in the favour of those who take action.
What does sustainability mean to you?
Sustainability should really be about future-proofing. For businesses, they can benefit by creating sustainable systems when it comes to energy. To reduce costs, provide new revenue streams, attract new investors, customers, and talent, improve customer experiences, and create resilience in operations. Old ways of using energy will soon be resigned to the history books; so, to avoid being left behind, business leaders need to prepare for the inevitable and future-proof, if they’re to survive in a sustainable world.
Lots of businesses are already taking action to reduce waste, recycle, decarbonise, deliver net zero and become more energy independent, and it’s great that they’re seeing the benefits while also doing some good in the world.
What do you see as the key barriers to decarbonising the NHS?
On 1 July 2022, the NHS became the first health system to embed net zero into legislation, through the Health and Care Act 2022. The NHS challenge is to remove 31 MtCO2e from the NHS Carbon Footprint, roughly equivalent to the emissions profile of Croatia (1).
The NHS has set a target to reach net zero by 2040, with an ambition to reach an 80% reduction in carbon emissions by 2028 to 2032, this presents several barriers to overcome, my top three are below:
1. Estate investment: The NHS estate is as varied in age and building styles as it is with operational uses and demands. Many sites will have experienced underinvestment over the years, with many buildings having poor insulation, inefficient glazing, etc.
2. Reliance on fossil fuels: Heating, cooling or on-site power generation and the use of high temperature heat (steam) will need to be transitioned to low temperature hot water systems for heat pumps to be deployed.
3. Electrification: This will play a substantial role in the decarbonisation of the NHS, with electrical upgrades alone being difficult to roll out whilst maintaining business continuity and trying to secure additional electrical capacity from the Distribution Network Operators (DNO’s).
How can the public sector look to decarbonise?
The first step for any organisation would be to move to an energy tariff that offers 100% renewables-backed electricity. From here, delivering initiatives around energy efficiency, such as LED lighting means that organisations can be confident residual consump- tion is secured from renewable sources. The same is true when implementing strategies for electrification of processes or fleet, it is to ensure the electricity imported from the grid can satisfy net zero scope 2 requirements.
Focus can then turn to reducing and decarbonising energy. In that order – the cheapest and cleanest unit of energy is the one that is not used. Visualisation of energy consumption is therefore crucial through an effective metering and energy management platform. This can show energy usage, as well as targeting potential areas for intervention, to ultimately eliminate waste and carbon emissions.
All buildings are different and the operational requirements and appetite for change vary too. Therefore, it is crucial to combine data with a detailed site level assessment to drive the most appropriate proposals. This could include modern building energy management systems (BEMS), on-site generation e.g. Solar or Wind to promote independence from the grid and price certainty (resilience and back up is crucial for hospitals in particular), access to district heating schemes, electric vehicle charging, recycling of energy and decarbonisation of heat e.g. heat pumps.
At E.ON, we design tailored renewable solutions that encompass all of these solutions, including support in accessing funding for all types of organisations from Local Authorities, to large businesses, including the NHS.
What solutions are E.ON providing for net zero?
We exist to support customers to deliver their energy ambitions, working with them to achieve their net zero objectives, navigating challenges together through proven end-to-end energy expertise. With a passion for safety and planning that is bespoke to your business, in house digital-led capability and flexible funding options, makes us the perfect partner for net zero.
We understand that focusing on, and achieving net zero can be complex to tackle. Whether organisations are well on their way to neutrality or at the beginning of their journey, our mission is to help organisations get there with their energy and building operations, in a way that translates both cost and carbon benefits.
It is important that the challenge is addressed against the particular site requirements and ambition, with a combination of technologies designed and integrated to maximise alignment to operational requirements, carbon and commercial objectives. We take a technology agnostic approach to design solutions based on an intimate understanding of a site to deliver the greatest impact.
Becoming carbon neutral has benefits for the environment but also has an impact on business efficiency. Operational cost savings and greater resilience are all benefits to be found from a net zero future. We work in partnership with our customers on an end-to-end approach to net zero from concept to delivery through our visualise, optimise, and decarbonise approach.
What Public Sector funding exists to support with progress towards net zero?
There are several existing and proposed funding routes to support organisations on their journey to net zero.
These vary in value and timings as well as focus around geography, technology, sector and outcome. E.ON supports customers in navigating the available sources of funding.
Under Phase 3a, the Government’s Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) provides grants for public sector bodies to fund heat decarbonisation and energy efficiency measures and is providing £1.4 billion of grant funding between 2022 and 2025 (2). It supports the aim of reducing emissions from public sector buildings by 75% by 2037, compared to a 2017 baseline, as set out in the net zero and Heat and Buildings strategies (3).
References
1. https://www.england.nhs.uk/greenernhs/wp-content/uploads/sites/51/2020/10/delivering-a-net-zero-national-health-service.pdf (31MtCO2e / Croatia)
2. Phase 3a Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme: grant recipients(publishing.service.gov.uk)
3. https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/public-sector-decarbonisation-scheme-phase-3
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