Bupa has exceeded its carbon reduction targets and reduced its emissions by 23% in less than six years after investing millions in low-carbon and renewable technologies around the world.
The healthcare provider set itself a target in 2010 of 20% reductions on its 2009 baseline by the end of 2015 but has surpassed this with results that have been verified by the Carbon Trust. The achievement has been led by the establishment of Bupa’s Energy Saver Fund (ESF) in 2014, which has invested £50m in over 950 low carbon and renewable projects globally.
Stuart Fletcher, chief executive of Bupa, said: “Reducing our carbon footprint is essential for us as a health and care company. Surpassing our carbon reduction target is a fantastic achievement and I’m very proud of the way our people have worked together to ensure we got there.
“This is a huge milestone, but the journey doesn’t stop here. We’re continuing to invest in low-carbon and renewable energy projects through our ESF, and expanding to also fund water and waste projects.”
In the UK, Bupa has invested £28.3 million in low carbon technologies across its business, including more than 75% of its care homes. Netherton Green Care Home, in Dudley, has reduced its carbon impact by 24% thanks to upgrades to lighting, a combined heat and power unit and solar panels.
In addition to this case, 89 combined heat and power units and 101 solar installations have been installed across care homes. At Bupa’s head office in London the electricity is now 100% renewable with solar panels on the roof.
Bupa has also installed 233 solar systems globally, with the electricity of its operations in Spain being 99% renewables, in addition to 400 energy-saving projects in Australia and New Zealand. Bupa has increased its use of electricity from certified renewable sources globally, and now gets over 35% of its electricity in this way. It now aims to double its use of renewable electricity by 2020.
Darran Messem, managing director of certification at the Carbon Trust, said: “Bupa is currently the only healthcare provider to receive global certification to the Carbon Trust Standard, demonstrating tangible progress in improving sustainability across all operations. This is not easy to achieve and requires strong leadership and an embedded culture of sustainability, which has driven Bupa forward to meet ambitious targets.”
