Green Dragon Environmental Standard Following an assessment by ARENA Network, which is an independent organisation providing practical support on environmental management issues, Ysbyty Gwynedd has been awarded a Level 3 Green Dragon Environmental Standard. The Green Dragon Environmental Standard is about making a commitment to environmental management. The standard is made up of five steps, each incorporating the key elements of Planning, Taking Action, Checking Progress and Reviewing Achievements to realise continual environmental improvement.
| 1. Commitment to Environmental Responsibility |
2. Complying with Legislation |
| 3. Managing Environmental Impacts |
| 4. Environmental Management Programme |
| 5. Continual Environmental Improvements | The Trust is committed to the Green Dragon Environmental Management System and in July 2005 an Energy Awareness Campaign was launched to raise energy awareness amongst staff. The Trust aims to gain Trust-wide accreditation in 2007. Current Environmental Priorities, including Objectives and Targets The current Objectives for the coming year are: - Reduce Primary energy by 15% by 2010 based on 2003/04 levels
- Improve the storage of waste on site
- Reduce waste to landfill by a further 10%
- Reduce water use Trust-wide by 1%
- Implement a Green Transport Plan
- Improve environmental performance of building contractors
- Implement a Pollution Prevention Plan
Environmental Performance Energy The Trust, in association with Nifes Consultancy has undertaken a Trust-wide Campaign to raise energy awareness amongst staff. This commenced in early 2005 and is ongoing. The protocols and strategies developed during the course of the campaign have been rolled out to other NHS Trusts in Wales and forms a basis for them to conduct their own campaign. A key element in the Campaign is commitment from senior staff, and in the case of the North West Wales NHS Trust the Chairman has played an active role in the project. Much of the Campaign has been centered on the Trust's largest site, Ysbyty Gwynedd, where the latest energy consumption figures show that energy efficiency measured by performance has improved by 8% during the last year. The Trust is committed to maintain this progress and believes that more savings can be made over the course of the next few years, by sustaining the momentum that this campaign has generated. Improved Energy Performance According to the annual statistics collated and analysed by Welsh Health Estates, the North West Wales NHS Trust has achieved an improvement in its energy performance (electricity use) over the past 12 months. Trust-wide electricity consumption has decreased by 1%, from 47,144 GJ in 2004/05 to 46,422 GJ in 2005/06. This reduction in consumption is despite a year-on-year increase in demand on the service, an increase in the size of the estate and the adverse weather conditions of last winter. The Trust has secured funding from the Welsh Assembly Government, backed by the Central Energy Fund, for further investments into energy-saving initiatives, which will contribute to improvements in energy efficiency in the future. Water As part of the Trust's Energy Awareness Campaign, staff have been educated and encouraged, where possible, to reduce water use and this has resulted in a 1% reduction in water consumption. Recycling At Ysbyty Gwynedd, 13% of the total domestic waste is now being recycled. This amounts to 63 tonnes of waste diverted from landfill by recycling. The recycled waste include cardboard, paper, tin cans and electrical equipment including computers. A compactor has been purchased to bale the cardboard, making recycling easier. The Trust is in the process of developing an ink-cartridge recycling scheme. Waste Strategy The Trust has developed a Waste Strategy to reduce the total amount of waste produced by 10% of the 2002/03 baseline figure by 2010. |