Source: Auckland District Health Board
Auckland District Health Board (GGHH member in New Zealand) has won the Excellence in Climate Action – Large Organisation category at the Enviro-Mark Solutions Awards in Auckland.
Auckland DHB is in the top 200 energy users in New Zealand, yet through strong leadership, planning and energy reduction partnerships, it has cut its carbon footprint by 28 percent since it started measuring carbon emissions with Enviro-Mark Solutions in 2015. A major factor was the reduction of the DHB’s energy consumption by 36 percent over this period.
Auckland DHB uses an immense amount of energy each year to treat more than one million patients, employ nearly 11,000 staff and ensure essential services are open around the clock.
Auckland DHB’s Chief Financial Officer Rosalie Percival says “This award belongs to our 11,000 Auckland DHB people. I want to acknowledge our Sustainability Manager Manjula Sickler, our network of almost 300 passionate sustainability champions, and our many partners, particularly Ngāti Whātua.
“As a healthcare provider, we will see the impacts on climate change on the health of our population. For these reasons it is imperative we respond and take action to reduce our own contribution to the atmosphere. Achieving Certified Emissions Measurement And Reduction Scheme® (CEMARS) certification through Enviro-Mark Solutions has meant we are able to really understand our energy use, and therefore, our carbon emissions. With this detailed understanding, we can target areas of real improvement.”
Dr Ann Smith, CEO of Enviro-Mark Solutions(external link) has praised the Auckland DHB’s efforts, “Enviro-Mark Solutions is proud to work with the Auckland District Health Board. They understand how their operations contribute to global warming and how climate impacts will impact on health and health services. They are deeply committed to reducing their carbon emissions and have achieved great results through their CEMARS certification. We are delighted to announce them as the winner in the Excellence in Climate Action – Large Organisation category.”
Ms Percival attributes the Auckland DHB’s success to buy-in to its long-term strategy by the executive leadership team, and the organisation’s commitment to be carbon neutral by 2050.
“Being aligned on our vision means that we can move forward with new programmes and necessary capital expenditures quickly,” says Ms. Percival. “One example is the collaboration with the Energy Efficiency and Conservation Authority (EECA) to develop a roadmap to cut our energy use in half and produce 50% of our energy requirements through on-site renewable energy by 2030. We call this vision Energy 50/50.”