BMJ 2013;347:f6481 doi: 10.1136/bmj.f6481 (Published 29 October 2013)
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Letters
LETTERS CLIMATE CHANGE
Making climate change a priority in the NHS Adam M Ali Frank Knox fellow Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Costello and colleagues articulate the obligation of healthcare professionals to provide leadership in the struggle against climate change.1 As a nationalised system and one of the largest employers in the world, the NHS has an unrivalled opportunity to lead other industries because, in theory, ideas for positive change could be dispersed and implemented widely. In line with the current drive for transparency in reporting outcomes, I believe that the contextualised carbon footprint and other measures of environmental impact for each hospital should be published and made publicly available to encourage action. Quantifying such performance measures will not be easy, but unless an attempt is made to do so, positive action on climate change may remain a nebulous objective to which no one can be held accountable. Moreover, although the process of data collection and analysis will require investment, this would probably be more than
compensated for by the savings achieved in reducing expenditure on energy. If the NHS embarks on this task, more effective methods of measuring and reducing environmental impact, from which other industries can benefit, are sure to emerge. Just as the NHS took the lead in 1948 in showing that universal healthcare can be provided to a population, so too can it take the lead in making climate change a priority. Competing interests: None declared. 1
Costello A, Montgomery H, Watts N. Climate change: the challenge for healthcare professionals. BMJ 2013;347:f6060. (9 October.)
Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f6481 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2013
[email protected] For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
Page 1 of 1
Letters
LETTERS CLIMATE CHANGE
Making climate change a priority in the NHS Adam M Ali Frank Knox fellow Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA
Costello and colleagues articulate the obligation of healthcare professionals to provide leadership in the struggle against climate change.1 As a nationalised system and one of the largest employers in the world, the NHS has an unrivalled opportunity to lead other industries because, in theory, ideas for positive change could be dispersed and implemented widely. In line with the current drive for transparency in reporting outcomes, I believe that the contextualised carbon footprint and other measures of environmental impact for each hospital should be published and made publicly available to encourage action. Quantifying such performance measures will not be easy, but unless an attempt is made to do so, positive action on climate change may remain a nebulous objective to which no one can be held accountable. Moreover, although the process of data collection and analysis will require investment, this would probably be more than
compensated for by the savings achieved in reducing expenditure on energy. If the NHS embarks on this task, more effective methods of measuring and reducing environmental impact, from which other industries can benefit, are sure to emerge. Just as the NHS took the lead in 1948 in showing that universal healthcare can be provided to a population, so too can it take the lead in making climate change a priority. Competing interests: None declared. 1
Costello A, Montgomery H, Watts N. Climate change: the challenge for healthcare professionals. BMJ 2013;347:f6060. (9 October.)
Cite this as: BMJ 2013;347:f6481 © BMJ Publishing Group Ltd 2013
[email protected] For personal use only: See rights and reprints http://www.bmj.com/permissions
Subscribe: http://www.bmj.com/subscribe
