Commitment to achieving net zero
Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust is committed to achieving net zero in the emissions it controls (NHS-CF) by 2040 and net zero in the emissions it influences (NHS-CF+) by 2045.
Baseline emissions footprint
Baseline emissions are a record of the greenhouse gases that have been produced in the past and were produced prior to the introduction of any strategies to reduce emissions. Baseline emissions are the reference point against which emissions reduction can be measured.
Baseline year: 2019/20 financial year
Additional details relating to the baseline emissions calculations.
Due to the quality of the data available, the 2019/20 financial year was determined as the most appropriate baseline year for measured KCHFT’s emissions. To align itself with the NHS’s interim emissions reduction targets, a historic 1990 baseline has also been calculated. This enables the Trust to track its progress against the commitments to reduce emissions in the NHS-CF by 80 per centby 2028 to 2032, and an 80 per centreduction in the NHS-CF+ by 2036 to 2039 when compared to 1990 values.
For a breakdown on where KCHFT’s workstreams sit in terms of scopes and footprints, please refer to figure 1.
Baseline year emissions
| Scope 1 | 619.43 |
| Scope 2 | 404.49 |
| Scope 3 | 22,248.14 |
| Total emissions | 23,272.06 |
Current emissions reporting
Reporting year: 2023/24 financial year
| Scope 1 | 1,354.00 |
| Scope 2 | 627.85 (Offset through the procurement of REGOs) |
| Scope 3 | 13,277.46 |
| Total emissions | 15,259.31 |
Emissions reduction targets
In order to continue our progress to achieving net zero, we have adopted the following carbon reduction targets.
We project that carbon emissions will decrease over the next five years in the NHS-CF to 1,744.60 tCO2e by 2030/31, this is a reduction of 52.38 per cent from the 2019/20 baseline, and 80 per cent of the 1990 historic baseline. We project that carbon emissions will decrease over the next five years in the NHS-CF+ to 16,440.23 tCO2e by 2030/31, this is a reduction of 42.3 per cent from the 2019/20 baseline, and 72.73 per cent of the 1990 historic baseline.
Progress against these targets can be seen in the graphs below:
Carbon reduction projects
Completed carbon reduction initiatives
The following environmental management measures and projects have been completed or implemented since the 2019/20 baseline. The carbon emission reduction achieved by these schemes equate to 809.49 tCO2e in the NHS-CF, a 22.09 per cent reduction against the 2019/20 baseline and a 5,868.86 tCO2e reduction (67.28 per cent) compared to the 1990 historic baseline. The measures will be in effect when performing the contract.
KCHFT has installed multiple arrays at sites, reducing our reliance on the national grid’s energy mix and producing up to 21.6 per cent of our quarterly electricity consumption renewably on site.
The trust’s ‘Waste Lead’ has been working with our clinical & administrative teams to increase recycling rates and reduce the proportion of waste marked ‘infectious’ due to carbon intensive disposal methods.
KCHFT has installed 12 electric vehicle chargers so far to supplement its fleet transition over to EVs and away from ICE vehicles.
Award winning innovation of incorporating the CO2 reporting into budget statements based on non-pay spend as a proxy and reporting in monthly reports to the Finance and Business and Investment Committee of the Board.
In the future we hope to implement further measures such as:
Several Heat Decarbonisation Plans have been developed for KCHFT buildings through the Government’s Low Carbon Skills Fund (LCSF). One of these plans (the ICC Building at Queen Victoria Memorial Hospital) has been submitted to the Public Sector Decarbonisation Scheme (PSDS) for potential funding.
A pareto analysis of the trust’s emissions found that travel and transport accounted for the largest proportion of KCHFT’s footprint. The trust is developing a travel and transport strategy which set out a plan for fleet transition to EVs, expansion of the trust EVCP network, and active travel facilitation.
Advances in technology have enabled remote working and virtual meetings in recent years, reducing emissions associated with commuting. The trust is exploring further ideas such as network enforced power downs to further decrease emissions.
The trust has employed an energy and environment lead who is responsible for identifying energy efficiency improvements such as LED lights and motion detection to reduce electricity consumption.
Declaration and sign off
This plan has been completed in accordance with PPN 06/21 and associated guidance and reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans.
Emissions have been reported and recorded in accordance with the published reporting standard for carbon reduction plans and the GHG reporting protocol corporate standard and uses the appropriate Government emission conversion factors for greenhouse gas company reporting.
Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions have been reported in accordance with SECR requirements, and the required subset of Scope 3 emissions have been reported in accordance with the published reporting standard for Carbon Reduction Plans and the Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard.
This plan has been reviewed and signed off by the board of directors (or equivalent management body).
Signed on behalf of the supplier:
Kent Community Health Foundation Trust Board
Date: 22 January 2025