In February 2023, PICS invited auditors from Loughborough University to review our environmental sustainability and were delighted to achieve Silver accreditation. The auditors spent half a day at PICS and conducted a thorough review of our activities and estate, including a review of our policies and a tour of our head office.
The report framework is based around 17 goals devised by the United Nations to help businesses achieve a sustainable and better future for all, as shown in the image below. PICS scored over 60 per cent in over half of the monitoring areas including community and energy, and catering.
The United Nations Sustainable Development Goals provide a blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all by 2030. They aim to eradicate poverty, reduce inequalities, and fight climate change. The goals are interconnected—often the key to success in one will involve tackling issues more commonly associated with another. With this audit, PICS will be able to see how far it has come in supporting the goals and find ways to move forward and support the goals even more.
Case study: Freewheelers export surplus
Sometimes PICS and the NHS have stocks of equipment that no longer meet the needs of our patients but would be useful where medical supplies are in short supply. We are careful to buy in bulk to save on price and reduce fuel consumption from multiple deliveries. But we are also just as careful to manage our stock and save surplus from landfill.
Heidi Lewis, PICS Project Manager, explains what was happening in March outside HQ (pictured): “We have donated some old but very usable urology equipment to the East Midlands FreeWheeelers charity. They are taking them with other supplies to a field hospital in Ukraine for treatment of the civilian population where hospitals are inaccessible. We are also about to donate some surplus pessaries.”
Karen Frankland, Deputy Managing Director added: “Even broken kit can be used for spares. We have linked up the FreeWheelers with two organisations who work together to manage NHS properties across Nottinghamshire (and the UK), so they can also donate lots of fitting and fixtures: Community Health Partnerships and NHS Local Improvement Finance Trust.”
Stephen Andersen
Stephen Andersen, Zero Carbon champion for PICS and Business Development Manager explains:
“We’re thrilled to achieve Silver, which reflects the hard work of our staff and our commitment to the environment and our local communities. We want to do more and this report gives us really helpful insight into what we need to do next.
“We take our role in the community very seriously and understand the impact healthcare provision can have on the environment. PICS is committed to being a responsible business and employer. By working towards gold, we’ll be contributing to the eradication of poverty and health inequalities and we’ll be continuing to do our bit to fight climate change.”
PICS is a member of the East Midlands Chamber of Commerce, who promoted this programme to businesses in Leicester and Nottingham. PICS applied for the audit, which was undertaken by trained students from the University of Leicester, De Montfort University and Loughborough University.
