The NHS has unveiled a £500m framework agreement to make it the world’s first net zero national health service in latest announcement. The Decarbonization of Estates framework agreement will see the NHS, among other public sector establishments, achieve zero carbon emissions by 2040.
NHS Shared Business Service (NHS SBS) will be at the forefront of making NHS the world’s first net zero health service provider. Also under extensive consultations for the framework were stakeholders in the public sector and Greener NHS leads. The agreement will not only rake up a guinness-world-record type of recognition for the NHS, but also enable the development of a more cleaner and greener public sector.
The decarbonization layout
The decarbonization framework agreement features several key changes to the construction layout of the NHS. These include changes to the:
- insulations in the external and internal walls
- the heat pumps – a switch to ground and air-source pumps will be made
- electric heating solutions
- PV systems
- ventilation systems
- and lighting works
Framework agreement for the world’s first net zero health service provider
This project is part of the over £1bn public sector investment by the Department of Energy Security and Net Zero. The Senior Category Manager at NHS SBS, termed the latest approved NHS decarbonization framework as a response to the “profound and growing threat to health posed by climate change”. Also added by Anjub Ali were two key vision scopes of the project, emphasizing on the need for “modernized” and “decarbonized” NHS buildings and assets.
The framework’s scope covers the following broad areas:
- completions and direct awards in 7 geographical regions
- utilization by both public and domestic projects
- inclusion of other public sector authorities like local and national housing associations
Also in the framework are the bars met by the selected suppliers. These include the environmental assessment on the impact of their service delivery. The assessments looked at how much the suppliers’ equipment and energy consumption care for the environment as established by data from previous projects.
Some of the contractors selected in the bid to make NHS the world’ s first net zero national health service include:
- CLC Contractors
- Kier Construction
- MTX Contracts
- Seddon Construction
- Vital Energi Utilities
- Lorne Stewart PLC
- Ashe Construction
- and Oakes Energy Services.
Climate change is an area of contention in discourses in public spaces, and so is health and its related issues. NHS SBS has a conceptual merger to make better two areas that lie at the center of major modern issues in the world right now. More is definitely set to come out of this inception.
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Also read: Suffolk Construction wins Dartmouth College decarbonization project
