We want our staff to take the lead in making healthcare more sustainable so we have created a number of ways for colleagues to get involved. Here are just a few:
Keep up to date with the latest news
Send us your ideas
If you have an idea please get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Shine Rewards
We want to make being more sustainable both fun and rewarding. Shine Rewards is a staff benefits programme which rewards staff for saving energy, reducing waste, travelling sustainably and taking part in other sustainable actions. It is accessed through a bespoke website and app, exclusively for Newcastle Hospitals, and there are monthly prizes and team charity donations available.
Visit the Shine Rewards website to sign up.
Green Champions & Green Champions +
There is an extensive network of Green Champions across all levels and directorates of Newcastle Hospitals. Green Champions are supported with regular emails and news from the Sustainability Team, as well as a group chat forum enabling Green Champions to support each other and share questions, suggestions and best practice.
There is no mandatory level of time commitment to be a Green Champion, nor any level of training required. Green Champions are always the first staff members to be made aware of any training opportunities that arise, as well as all key sustainability team messages.
Green Champions Information Pack Green Champions Plus Information PackIf you are already a Green Champion please print one of the posters and display on noticeboards in your area. You can also add this image to your email signature so your colleagues know you are a Green Champion!
Embedding Sustainability – Our 10 Step Model
We want to inspire, inform & empower departments to deliver sustainable healthcare.
The following 10-steps have been developed to help departments, directorates or even clinical boards to embed sustainability.
- Appoint a Sustainability Lead
- Connect to expertise, support and resources – internally or externally
- Build a network of Green Champions and Sustainability Ambassadors
- Increase knowledge by accessing training
- Embed sustainability into strategies or produce a statement
- Embed sustainability into decision making processes
- Establish a sustainability working group which meets regularly to drive forward improvements
- Identify the main sustainability impacts arising from your activities, and work to reduce these impacts
- Create an action plan and monitor progress towards the aims contained within it
- Report progress and share success stories to inspire others
There is support available from the Sustainability Team at every step – email the Sustainability Team at [email protected]
We can connect you to expertise, support and reources
We can support you to establish a sustainability working group, help identify the main sustainability impacts of your activities and help you prioritise your activities.
We can also help you calculate the impact of any projects you implement, and share your good work by publishing your case studies on the intranet, in Green News and with other Trusts and interested parties
We will facilitate sharing of ideas, learning and progress to reduce duplication of work, and make it easier to translate success stories to other departments and even Trust-wide.
Training
The Advanced Programme for Sustainability Ambassadors and Climate Emergency for Managers training are just two of the training options made available by the Sustainability Team. Visit our training page for more information
Climate Emergency Action Fund
Sometimes sustainability projects require a small amount of funding to get them off the ground. Applications to our Climate Emergency Action Fund are welcome from any member of staff with a sustainability idea that they would like to try in their area of work. Email [email protected] for an application form
Shine Award
If a project is shown to have made an impact on one of the key areas of sustainability it can be submitted for a Shine Award and added to our bank of case studies. Simply assess your project using our appraisal form and send us a case study. Email [email protected] for more details.