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Roadmap to Net Zero Carbon
As we navigate the growing climate and energy crisis, the urgency to achieve net zero carbon presents the healthcare sector with both a complex challenge and a remarkable opportunity for transformation.
The built environment accounts for 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions and the Government is legally bound to achieve a target of net zero by 2050, aiming to achieve 68% reductions in carbon emissions by 2030. As custodians of buildings, facilities managers are responsible for collaborating with stakeholders to improve efficiency, drive down carbon emissions and ensure spaces positively impact the environment in pursuit of these targets. In hospitals and clinics, balancing the need for patient-focussed services with the need for energy efficiency presents a unique challenge.
Some healthcare facilities, whether public or private, may predate the NHS itself, and even more recent buildings may have been designed for a different era of healthcare delivery. Aged estates often house older assets and have a maintenance backlog – the NHS Confederation estimates that the cost to eradicate the NHS maintenance backlog stands at “£13.8 billion, more than the £13.6 billion total cost of running the entire NHS estate”.
Healthcare providers are under pressure to reduce the backlog of maintenance in their facilities. Addressing this backlog would pave the way to reaching net zero carbon by enhancing the operational efficiency of existing systems, leading to reduced energy consumption, lower carbon emissions and reduced operational disruptions.
Healthcare facilities are typically public facing, receiving high footfall and accommodating vulnerable people with diverse needs. Consequently, decarbonisation projects can be multifaceted and challenging to implement. However, with robust planning and fast action, the healthcare sector can successfully achieve net zero carbon whilst upholding the safety and well-being of patients and staff.
Closing the gap
NHS Trusts are required by the Health and Technical Memoranda (HTM) 07-02 to develop a Sustainable Development Management Plan and to have publicly committed to ambitious near-term and longer-term net zero carbon targets.
Whilst, many NHS Trusts (as well as private healthcare facilities) have therefore committed to net zero carbon targets, some still need a well-defined, strategic plan to accomplish these goals.
Regardless of where you are on your net zero journey, CBRE has experience in the healthcare sector and we’re here to help. We understand healthcare and the criticality of the facilities – from keeping operating theatres and MRI scanners fully operational, to assuring water and air quality for infection control, patient care is at the heart of everything we do.
We’re transforming thousands of built environments across the world to help clients achieve net zero and create positive social impact. And we have the ability to support you with capital projects, integrating them seamlessly across your estate. The result is truly resilient environments that will take you – and the services you offer – confidently into the future.
Refer to the roadmap below to chart your course to net zero carbon.
Expand the sections below to learn more
Our work in action
- CBRE identified £2.1m of energy-saving projects, including design improvements, at two University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) hospitals and developed air source heat pump proposals for the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery.
- CBRE identified £155k of utility savings with a return on investment of under 2 years for a single private healthcare client hospital as part of their net zero journey.
- CBRE can validate energy invoices and bills and identify incorrect billing. We recently discovered a £63k over-billing on a gas meter for Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.
- We have completed decarbonisation audits and strategies for UCLH and Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust (CPFT).
- We assisted CPFT with securing over £215k in NHS Energy Efficiency Fund (NEEF) funding for LED lights and sub-metering projects in 2024 and more than £1 million.
Making procurement easy
We are part of NHS procurement frameworks such as the NHS Commercial Framework for Sustainable Estate Solutions, so we are already vetted and ready to support with your needs.
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