Ambulance service blazing the green trail

Paul Scott

The region’s ambulance service has become one of only three in the country to sign up to a scheme that will see it aim to cut its carbon emissions by nearly a third.

The East of England Ambulance Service (EEAS) will be working with the Carbon Trust to reduce its footprint by 30 per cent over the next five years.

It is one of the only NHS ambulance services in the country to be signing up to the scheme along with the London Ambulance Service and Yorkshire Ambulance Service.

If it hits its target it will also mean that EEAS will save nearly £6.4m – money that will be channelled towards patient care.

Paul Scott, EEAS director of finance, said: “We are proud to be one of the first ambulance services in the country to be working with the Carbon Trust on this very important campaign.

“The Environmental Improvement Group (EIG) is carrying out research across the EEAS to identify the full range of carbon savings to be made and this has already resulted in the launch of two projects with more in the pipeline.”

One of these projects, a system to put computers into hibernation when they have not been used for an hour, is predicted to save hundreds of thousands of pounds by 2016 as well as reduce the EEAS carbon footprint.

Another is the decision to use recycled paper for external and internal use, both in a bid to be more environmentally friendly and save money but also to demonstrate EEAS is committed to carbon reduction.

An awareness campaign for staff is already underway to encourage everyone to support the campaign and become more environmentally aware in their everyday working lives.

Staff will be encouraged to take small measures which all add up like switching off lights and office machinery, printing double sided, recycling and being aware of eco-friendly driving techniques.