Helping your business hit its sustainability goals
Whichever part of the healthcare sector you operate in, it can’t go without notice that now, more than ever, adopting a sustainable approach to business is the right way forward.
At Anenta, we’ve worked with thousands of businesses, including GPs, care homes, and pharmacies, to help reduce their carbon footprint.
Aiding sustainability through training
To help you and your colleagues build a better understanding of waste management and the proper segregation of waste in healthcare settings, we’ve worked with Health Education England to create a quick, easy, and free healthcare waste e-learning module that will help your business remain compliant and cut costs.
The driver behind this training was our analysis of over 2,500 primary care Duty of Care Audits which showed that 58% of healthcare professionals with responsibility for waste management were unfamiliar with the Healthcare Technical Memorandum, the latest iteration of which came out in March 2023.
This lack of knowledge has, in no small part, led to poor segregation of waste resulting in low-risk items – that should be disposed of as offensive waste – entering the infectious waste stream. This hampers sustainable waste targets and leads to additional and unnecessary cost. More worrying, poor segregation of waste runs the risk of hazardous waste entering non-hazardous waste streams.
Outlining what waste should go into which waste stream, correct segregation practices, and other important waste related guidance, the 30-45 minute training module is a quick and easy training asset for your business.
Importantly, it provides guidance on how to correctly complete Pre-Acceptance Audits (PAA).
If you produce clinical waste, you must have a PAA in place. Without one, waste contractors are within their rights to refuse collection of your waste. This is because they can be fined should waste collected contain undeclared clinical or hazardous waste.
Aiding the disposal of waste in a safe, efficient and sustainable manner, the training module forms part of our ongoing work to help clients comply with regulation, segregate waste correctly, and cut costs.
Find out how this training could help your business; contact our helpful team today.
Helping the NHS hit its net zero targets
To reach its goal of achieving net zero emissions within its control by 2040, the NHS published its NHS Clinical Waste Strategy in 2023. This aims to reduce future waste volumes, helping to deliver estimated annual revenue savings of £11 million each and every year over the next 10 years.
As part of this strategy NHS England introduced the Offensive Waste stream for GPs on a compulsory basis.
Recognising that this would take time to implement, Anenta provided help to ICBs across England to fast-track the stream’s implementation through a raft of support.
Virtual training
As part of this process, the team at Anenta provided virtual training sessions for GPs and Practice Managers, alongside direct support to ensure the correct completion of compulsory clinical waste Pre-Acceptance Audits; a necessary step before the Offensive Waste stream could be introduced.
As a direct result, we’re pleased to share that the introduction of the Offensive Waste stream has led to impressive results including, in one ICB’s case, a 41% fall in the volume of orange infectious waste bags being used by GPs, and a 331% increase in the use of offensive waste tiger bags.
Dramatically cutting the volume of waste being sent to incineration, and helping ensure that the majority of waste produced by healthcare settings is now disposed of using either alternative treatments or energy from waste processes, these actions have dramatically lowered GP carbon footprints across the UK.
It’s all part of our approach to help clients achieve their sustainability goals. Contact one of our team today to find out how we can help you hit your sustainability goals.
Helping your business reduce costs and boost sustainability
Having successfully helped thousands of businesses in the healthcare sector cut costs and enhance their sustainable approach to waste, we have the knowledge, skills, tools and technology to help your business do the same.
Through training, and our helpful self-audit digital solutions, we’ve helped customers cut the typical time taken to complete a clinical waste Pre-Acceptance Audit from 27 hours to just 30 minutes. Combined with the use of our advanced waste management platform, Vector, we make a meaningful difference to our customers’ businesses. We’ll not only help you fast track your sustainability plan, but we’ll keep you compliant and cost-effective in the process.
Contact one of our team today to find out how we can help you hit your sustainability goals.
Taking sustainability to the next level
In addition to the NHS’s direct net zero 2040 goals, the NHS aims to secure net zero emissions from third parties by 2045. This is an area that we can assist both the NHS and other businesses with, through our collaborative approach to working with clients and their waste collectors.
Having access to details about each and every waste collection and delivery run, including which vehicles are used to collect waste, we help waste collection providers improve efficiency so that they use less fuel.
Working with GPs, pharmacies, care home groups and other healthcare waste producers, we can coordinate collections with greater efficiency, helping you to significantly reduce emissions linked to waste disposal and associated services. Importantly, we can put the tools in place to measure all associated emissions so that you can report effectively on carbon produced by third parties used by your businesses, organisation or ICB.
Talk to one of our team to find out how we can help you hit your direct and indirect sustainability/net zero targets. Contact us today.