Built Environment - Refurbishments - Convincer

General info:

  • Buildings generate 46% of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions, the main gas contributing to climate change.
  • The UK Government aims for all new non-domestic public sector buildings to be zero carbon by 2018
  • More than five million people in the UK suffer ‘extreme stress’ in the workplace. Long term stress can contribute to cardiovascular diseases, infectious diseases, anxiety and depression.
  • The construction industry employs 3 million people in the UK

 And the health service:

  • NHS estate comprises 25 million m2 of occupied floor area and has a value of £36 billion for buildings and equipment  
  • In England, energy used by the health sector produces about 3.47 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year.
  • Estimates show that admissions to hospitals to hospital linked to air pollution cost the NHS between £17-60 million a year.
  • 78% of Directors of Nursing say that hospital design impacts on the recruitment of nursing staff.
  • A well designed building can shorten the length of patient stay and reduce the need for painkilling drugs.
  • Better, energy efficient, building design could not only cut energy costs by a quarter, but could also increase the productivity of the NHS’s workforce by 6-16%.
  • By 2010, over £11 billion will have been invested in 100 new hospitals and over £1 billion in new primary care buildings, in addition to ongoing refurbishment.
  • Evidence suggests that, where possible, energy-efficient refurbishments should be encouraged over demolition and rebuild – as being much more carbon efficient.
  • Upgrading existing buildings with energy saving devices can also have a significant impact on energy consumption and therefore on carbon emissions. Improvements that NHS organisations can undertake include changes to the building fabric, such as insulation, and additions that increase operational efficiency, such as motion sensor lighting and building management systems. Upgrades like these have the potential to reduce emissions from NHS buildings by eight to 10%, resulting in significant cost savings.