Hospitals have huge environmental footprints – here's how they can be more sustainable

clock • 5 min read
Credit: iStock
Image:

Credit: iStock

Better building design based on retrofit and fabric first approaches and better operational flexibility can help cut the NHS's environmental footprint, argues James Scott Vandeventer from Manchester Metropolitan University

Hospital visits usually involve a medical emergency or appointment. The last thing on most patients' minds will be how the building works. We expect the lights to be on, medical equipment to work, a comfortable...

To continue reading this article...

Join BusinessGreen

In just a few clicks you can start your free BusinessGreen Lite membership for 12 months, providing you access to:

  • Three complimentary articles per month covering the latest real-time news, analysis, and opinion from Europe’s leading source of information on the Green economy and business
  • Receive important and breaking news stories via our daily news alert
  • Our weekly newsletter with the best of the week’s green business news and analysis

Join now

 

Already a BusinessGreen member?

Login

More on Buildings

Study: Modernising ageing lifts could save enough electricity to power 130,000 homes a year

Study: Modernising ageing lifts could save enough electricity to power 130,000 homes a year

Upgrading the UK's lifts could save around 465GWh of electricity each year - enough to power Brighton and Hove or Newcastle

Stuart Stone
clock 25 August 2026 • 2 min read
'Exciting moment': Energy-saving Passivhaus school projects completed in South Gloucestershire

'Exciting moment': Energy-saving Passivhaus school projects completed in South Gloucestershire

Primary and secondary schools with capacity for 1,300 pupils heralded as two of the most energy efficient buildings in England

Michael Holder
clock 24 August 2026 • 3 min read
'Seismic shake-up': Fresh planning reforms aim to deliver more homes near train stations

'Seismic shake-up': Fresh planning reforms aim to deliver more homes near train stations

Updated National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) promises default 'yes' for new homes near train stations in England as government seeks to further streamline planning processes

Michael Holder
clock 18 August 2026 • 5 min read