Staff Involvement

A culture of carbon and sustainability awareness should become an integral part of working for the NHS. Particularly as a significant amount of the energy used, travel choices and goods purchased throughout the NHS is in the direct control of individual members of staff.

Resources available

There is a range of downloadable resources available from a variety of organisations - all designed to help staff to take positive action, from turning off computers to reporting water leaks. A few examples from NHS Gloucestershire are listed in the 'key information section on the right' and a few websites to visit to download more examples are:

• The Carbon Trust has a range of posters and stickers that are suitable for across the organisation.
• The 10:10 campaign has produced a downloadable checklist to help all staff engage in the campaign.
• The Campaign for Greener Healthcare has a range of 'Decarbonising Care' flyers linked with the 10:10 campaign, to raise awareness about the links between carbon and health.
• Good Screenings allows you to screen a range of films (including Age of Stupid) at staff events for a small license fee.

Staff 'teams'

Many Trusts have set up, or are developing, staff 'teams' (green teams, environmental teams, carbon teams) to help share information and best practice across the organisation. These tend to be voluntary roles, and a good team will have representation from all parts of the Trust and will have received training and support from both managers and the Sustainability lead. The North Bristol NHS Trust's Environmental Awareness Representatives (EARs) are one such team - have a look at the powerpoint presentation and the Treading Lightly case study to learn more. NHS Dorset also have an active staff programme - including celebrating Green Office Week and a team of ENVOYs (ENVironment, Organisation & You). See the presentation and case study for more information.

A few Trusts have made their Terms of Reference for such teams available for other organisations to use as a template. Have a look at the case study below for copies of those documents.