CUH Sustainability

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CUH Sustainability is here to engage staff in the Trusts mission to be Net-Zero by 2040.🌍 CUH has a Board-approved Green Plan - our Action 50.

We have a Climate Emergency to tackle – this is no longer distant and remote, it is here and now. At its core it is about how CUH is helping to ensure the NHS meets it’s net-zero targets of halving carbon emissions inside 10 years (using a 2019 baseline) and then hitting net-zero inside the next 10 years. This cannot be an instant fix – carbon is built into everything we consume therefore actions are essential – and we have put 50 in our Green Plan – but, and this is really important, they all need to be a part of a clear trajectory for achieving net-zero and tailored to our T:SKE healthcare delivery priorities as conventional one-size-fits-all, fit-where-they-touch, random ‘quick-wins’ and only the ‘low-hanging fruit’ responses to this will not be nearly enough to meet the target. At the heart of the transition from the high-carbon and high-waste conveyor of consumption (take-make-use-throwaway) to net-zero and zero-waste in which we ‘RE’-everything – reuse, repair, recycle and powered by renewables! – sometimes called the circular economy. Finding and checking this trajectory is why our 10-year Green Plan comes in 3 phases with the first phase between 2022-24 to set the foundation.

26/09/2025

Sharing is caring, and sustainable!

Did you know that the amazing green team within the Vascular Access Unit (VAU), save up clean and unused trays and sponges from procedure packs for our paediatrics teams to use for crafts and play? 🎨

Not only is this process a testament to the kindness of our CUH family, but also their resourcefulness! Instead of these going into the bin, they are able to be reused and given a second chance to help our patients... maybe not in the way it was initially intended, but helpful (and fun) nonetheless!

Well done to our brilliant VAU for always going the extra mile for our patients and the planet. 💚

Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

25/09/2025

We've got 5 tickets up for grabs on next weeks 'Waste Tour Wednesday'! ♻️

This is your opportunity to head behind the scenes with our brilliant waste team to see exactly what happens to our waste.

Tickets can be booked via the below link or by scanning the QR code.

https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/waste-tour-wednesday-october-25-tickets-1630829628319?aff=oddtdtcreator

24/09/2025

Did someone call for the 'Chair Man'?! 🦸‍♂️

What's his superpower? Well, reducing Trust wastage and money one repair at a time of course!

If you have some soft furnishings in need of some TLC, don't buy new... Simply call for the 'Chair Man'!

Whilst he may not respond to a bat signal, he does respond to a request on the Facilities Helpdesk Portal via Connect 💚

24/09/2025

Regular Voi user?🛴

Voi are hosting a safety events at the Madingley Park & Ride tomorrow, 10pm - 3pm. This will be a chance for people to try a scooter and e-bike, collect a Voi helmet and receive a few discounts.

23/09/2025

We are so proud to continue supporting the CUH Infection Prevention and Control Team (IPCT) in their Trust wide 'You don't need to gloves when...' campaign 🌍

This campaign aims to reduce the incidence of healthcare-associated infection, improve sustainability and to provide staff with the required knowledge to enable them to risk assess and make informed decisions surrounding the need for gloves.
Gloves make up the biggest proportion of our single use plastics here at CUH, with a shocking 23 million gloves being procured (and thrown away) in 2024, by CUH alone. This equates to the same weight as 2 adult blue whales!

Single use plastics, like that of gloves, have a large carbon footprint due to the life cycle it goes through (extraction of raw materials, manufacturing, energy consumption, transportation etc...). We estimate that the 2024 CUH Co2e from gloves was 600 tonnes!

Last year we used this amount of gloves because more and more staff wore them when they were not clinically needed...
Remember, it is NOT Clinically appropriate to wear gloves when:
📈Checking blood pressure and temperature
💊Dispensing medication to a patient
🍽️Handling out and collecting meal trays and drinks
🤝Touching a patient
🍼Helping patients with oral nutritional needs
🦽Pushing a chair, trolley or bed and mobilising a patient
📞Using a phone or computer

For more guidance on the Trust's gloves campaign , please check Connect: https://www.cuhconnect.nhs.uk/.../infection.../hand-hygiene/

19/09/2025

Today is the last day of , we hope you've enjoyed seeing just a handful of the amazing work staff are doing across CUH ♻

Whilst recycling alone will not mean we reach our Net-Zero targets, high value recycling is still important for creating a sustainable future.

Our final project to highlight is the collection of non-hazardous, good quality plastic from pathology to bail and send of for high value recycling. We also get a rebate back the Trust when we do this. A big thank you to the amazing pathology labs taking part in this scheme, we look forward to seeing how we can expand this going forward. 👨‍🔬

If you have any queries about this recycling scheme or if you have any green initiatives you’d like to start, please reach out: cuh.thinkgreen@nhs.net 💚

19/09/2025

Regular Voi user?🛴

Voi are hosting two safety events at the Madingley Park & Ride. One tomorrow (8am - 2pm) and another on 25th September (10pm - 3pm). This will be a chance for people to try a scooter and e-bike, collect a Voi helmet and receive a few discounts.

18/09/2025

Calling all gardeners!! 👩‍🌾🌻

The fourth instalment in our ‘CUH Climate Conversations’ series will be a talk on ‘Climate Change, Gardening, and Us’ by Clive Boase from Climate Change Gardening.

The talk, which will be 30 minutes long followed by a 15-minute Q&A, will take place Wednesday 22nd October, 12:00-13:00 via Teams.

'Climate Change Gardening' is a local organisation (based near Ely) that both raises awareness of and provides tips on gardening with a changing climate in mind.

If you would like to know more, or would like the invite for the talk please email cuh.thinkgreen@nhs.net 💚

18/09/2025

We're celebrating this week!! ♻

Whilst recycling alone will not mean we reach our Net-Zero targets, high value recycling is still important for creating a sustainable future. This week we'll be highlighting some amazing recycling projects that are happening across our Trust.

Did you know that labels and the backing paper (yes, the shiny paper/plastic stuff) can go into the black confidential waste bins? Well they can, and it all came about because our green champions in the blood sciences labs questioned it.

The team now ensure that all labels, backing paper and request forms are segregated and put into the confidential paper bin. Safe to say they go through so many, we had to get them another bin!!

Want to know why we LOVE the black confidential waste bins so much?
1 - The service is FREE for the Trust. If we divert more clean paper into this stream and out of recycling, we save money. 💷
2 - The bins are sent off for recycling and turned into tissues! 🌍

Please continue to take advantage of this bin and ensure clean paper is put into it, instead of the other bins. This stream is what we call a win for the planet and a win for the Trust.

If you have any queries about this recycling scheme or if you have any green initiatives you’d like to start, please reach out: cuh.thinkgreen@nhs.net 💚

17/09/2025

We're celebrating this week!! ♻

Whilst recycling alone will not mean we reach our Net-Zero targets, high value recycling is still important for creating a sustainable future. This week we'll be highlighting some amazing recycling projects that are happening across our Trust.

The incredible team on C3 have segregated and recycled over 10,000 feed bottles over the past 18 months! These bottles which are cleaned, collected and bailed onsite will then be sent off for recycling. The Trust then receives a rebate! A win for the planet, and a win for the Trust.

The 10,000 bottles collected is the same as over 250kg of plastic being recycled... Well done to the fantastic team on C3 for this achievement!

We're learning from this, and are now looking at rolling this out in other paediatric areas across the Trust🍼

If you have any queries about this recycling scheme or if you have any green initiatives you’d like to start, please reach out: cuh.thinkgreen@nhs.net 💚

16/09/2025

Regular Voi user?🛴

Voi are hosting two safety events at the Madingley Park & Ride. One on 20th (8am - 2pm) and another on 25th September (10pm - 3pm). This will be a chance for people to try a scooter and e-bike, collect a Voi helmet and receive a few discounts.

16/09/2025

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Hills Road
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http://www.cuh.nhs.uk/about-us/our-structure/other-departments/think-green/, https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/B333ZJB

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