Climate Change Data

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Environment
• Social
• Governance

Environmental Achievements

• Installed 78 photovoltaic (PV) solar panels on the roof of Spire Cardiff's outpatients building, expecting significant reductions in the hospital's total carbon output.
• Launched a company-wide carbon awareness campaign with designated Carbon Champions to identify energy savings opportunities.

Social Achievements

• Launched the largest nurse apprenticeship programme run by any private organisation in the UK, in partnership with the University of Sunderland (165 offers made from 5,000 applicants).
• Launched programmes for Operating Department Practitioners and Assistant Practitioners with the University of Derby.
• Launched ‘GROW’ learning framework, including Step Up and Stretch initiative for future leaders.
• Continued overseas nurse recruitment programme, welcoming around 250 clinical colleagues.
• 84% of colleagues said they felt proud to work for Spire Healthcare in the 2021 Colleague Engagement Survey (up from 80% in 2020).

Governance Achievements

• Accepted and implemented the Paterson Inquiry’s recommendations.
• Set up a second compensation fund to deal with new claims arising from treatment by Paterson.
• Shared guidance on conducting patient reviews with the NHS and wider independent sector.
• Will jointly lead a project with regulators, the NHS and government to develop a national toolkit for patient reviews and recalls.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on waiting lists and staff absences.
• Supply chain disruptions.
• Short-notice patient cancellations.
• Shortage of clinical staff.

Mitigation Strategies

• Effective navigation of pandemic challenges.
• Procurement teams worked to avoid supply shortages.
• Streamlined pre-operative assessment processes for short-notice admissions.
• Overseas nurse recruitment.
• Nurse apprenticeship programme.
• Efficiency programmes in procurement and operations, delivering savings in excess of £15m by the end of 2022.
• Investment in digital systems and efficient pathways.

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Efforts to secure sufficient supplies during national shortages (e.g., blood bottle shortage).

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Awards & Recognition

• HSJ Award: Best Healthcare Provider Partnership with the NHS
• HealthInvestor Award: Public/Private Partnership of the Year
• Nursing Times Workforce Summit Award: Best Workplace for Learning and Development

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Waste Management
• Water Conservation
• Workforce Diversity & Inclusion
• Gender Equality
• Employee Engagement
• Community Engagement
• Clinical & Corporate Governance
• Modern Slavery
• Data Security

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced GHG emissions by 6% in 2022 to 27,091 tCO2e. Achieved 30% overall waste recycling rate (target 25%), and 23% dry mixed recycling rate (target 20%). Waste management initiatives saved approximately 296 tonnes of CO2.
• 8% ahead of target (excluding electrical emissions) in carbon reduction compared to original 2020 plan.

Social Achievements

• 180 colleagues on nurse apprenticeship programme (one of the largest in England).
• 80% of colleagues reported being proud to work for Spire Healthcare.
• Combined executive committee and board demographic is 37% female (2022).

Governance Achievements

• Improved CDP climate change rating from C to B in 2022.
• Maintained modern slavery due diligence process for all new suppliers with an annual spend of more than £1m; no issues identified.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Energy supplier switched supply from renewable to non-renewable sources, impacting CO2 reduction targets.
• Managing and sorting complex waste streams (clinical, infectious, offensive waste) in the healthcare sector.
• Reducing single-use plastics in the healthcare industry requires collaborative effort across the sector and supply chain.
• Achieving a 20-40-40 waste model (20% clinical, 40% offensive, 40% infectious) requires careful waste classification to avoid environmental health agency implications.

Mitigation Strategies

• Investing £16 million in decarbonisation strategy to achieve net zero by 2030.
• Implementing new initiatives to improve dry mixed recycling and food waste disposal, including returning materials to the national distribution centre for baling and recycling.
• Replacing gas-powered primary steam boilers with electrically powered equipment.
• Introducing high-efficiency heating, cooling, and ventilation systems.
• Continuing LED lighting replacements.
• Installing roof and ground-mounted photo-voltaic (PV) solar panels.
• Installing EV charging points.
• Improving building insulation.
• Removing R22 refrigerant gases from old air conditioning systems.
• Working with waste treatment supplier to develop recycle initiative for single-use oxygen face masks and tubing.
• Rolling out automatic meter reading for water consumption monitoring.
• Developing a strategic water management plan.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Annual due diligence for suppliers with annual spend over £1m

Responsible Procurement

• Modern slavery due diligence process

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Acute weather events (flooding, high winds)
• Chronic weather events (heatwaves, drought)
• Acute water events
• Wildfires

Transition Risks

• Energy costs
• New technologies
• Market risk
• Reputation risk
• Legal and regulatory changes

Opportunities

• Communicating environmental credentials as a competitive differentiator
• Adapting to changing healthcare needs related to climate change impacts

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD

Certifications: ISO27001:2013, Cyber Essentials

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• SDG 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 12, 13, 16

Spire Healthcare’s sustainability strategy supports eight SDGs.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Sharps Bio System (reusable sharps containers)

Awards & Recognition

• Not disclosed

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Climate Change
• Waste Management
• Water Conservation
• Workforce Development
• Diversity & Inclusion
• Governance
• Community Engagement
• Data Security
• Modern Slavery

Environmental Achievements

• Reduced carbon emissions by 3% ahead of target in 2023 (27,017 tCO2e vs 27,750 tCO2e target).
• Overall waste recycling increased to 35% (from 30% in 2022).
• Hospital sites only dry mixed recycling increased to 23.5% (from 18% in 2022).
• Waste management initiatives saved over 358 tonnes of CO2 in 2023.
• Reduced water consumption through various initiatives, including optimizing endoscopy reverse osmosis systems.

Social Achievements

• Launched Driving Clinical Excellence in Practice program for nurses and allied health professionals.
• Over 430 apprentices across clinical and non-clinical disciplines.
• Improved colleague engagement score to 81% (from 80% in 2022), with an 86% response rate.
• Raised over £40,000 for various charities during corporate charity week.
• Increased percentage of colleagues reporting a non-white background to 18.9% (from 17.3% in 2022).

Governance Achievements

• Established a group-wide charity committee.
• Implemented the NHS England Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF).
• 31 Spire hospitals achieved the Quality Data Provider certificate, with 19 receiving the ‘gold’ award.
• Maintained modern slavery due diligence process for key suppliers.
• Established a new data strategy, governance and security committee.

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Managing complex waste streams in the healthcare sector.
• Reducing the use of single-use plastics in healthcare.
• Addressing climate risks, particularly heat stress on facilities.
• Reducing gender pay gap.
• Improving ethnic diversity in leadership.

Mitigation Strategies

• Implementing waste segregation training for all colleagues.
• Exploring initiatives to reduce single-use plastics and recycle single-use items.
• Conducting scenario analysis to assess climate risk and implementing mitigation strategies.
• Investing in colleague development and leadership training, particularly for women.
• Reviewing leadership programs to improve ethnic diversity.

Supply Chain Management

Supplier Audits: Not disclosed

Responsible Procurement

• Modern slavery due diligence process for new suppliers with an annual spend of in excess of £1 million.

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Physical Risks

• Heat stress on facilities

Transition Risks

• Not disclosed

Opportunities

• Not disclosed

Reporting Standards

Frameworks Used: TCFD

Certifications: ISO 27001:2013, Cyber Essentials, Cyber Essentials Plus

Third-party Assurance: Not disclosed

UN Sustainable Development Goals

• Goal 7 (Affordable and clean energy)
• Goal 3 (Good health and well-being)
• Goal 12 (Responsible consumption and production)
• Goal 13 (Climate action)
• Goal 4 (Quality education)
• Goal 5 (Gender equality)
• Goal 8 (Decent work and economic growth)
• Goal 16 (Peace, justice and strong institutions)

Spire Healthcare maps its sustainability activities to these SDGs.

Sustainable Products & Innovation

• Not disclosed

Awards & Recognition

• Listed in the Financial Times Diversity Leaders index.

Environmental Metrics

ESG Focus Areas

• Sustainability
• Workforce Development
• Patient Safety
• Patient Experience
• Community Engagement

Environmental Achievements

• Carbon emissions 3% ahead of 2023 target (27,017 tCO2e achieved, target 27,750 tCO2e)
• Increased dry mixed waste recycling by 5% since 2022 (23.5% recycling rate)
• Saved 27,000 liters of water in a trial at two hospitals

Social Achievements

• Colleague engagement score rose by 1 percentage point to 81%
• 83% of consultants describe care as ‘excellent’ or ‘very good’
• 96% of patients rated their experience as ‘very good’ or ‘good’
• Launched Driving Clinical Excellence in Practice Programme for nurses
• First graduation from nurse degree apprenticeship programme
• Recruited over 670 colleagues from overseas since 2021
• Reduced overall absence rate to 4.7% from 5.9% in 2022
• Monthly turnover rate reduced significantly with 23% fewer leavers in 2023 compared to 2022
• Companywide charity week raised over £40,000

Governance Achievements

• 98% of inspected hospitals and clinics rated ‘Good’ or ‘Outstanding’ by CQC
• Implementing NHS England Patient Safety Incident Response Framework (PSIRF) for all patients
• Strengthened governance standards, including increased compliance with the National Joint Registry
• Enhanced cyber security to strengthen information governance and data security

Climate Goals & Targets

Environmental Challenges

• Reducing colleague leaver rates and filling vacancies
• High agency costs for specialist skills
• Securing green energy
• Maintaining high data quality standards

Mitigation Strategies

• Salary increases for eligible colleagues
• New reward framework
• Investment in training and development programs
• Insourcing of recruitment team
• Single agency booking system
• Investment in low carbon infrastructure and heat recovery
• Monthly monitoring of hospitals' energy consumption and benchmarking
• Refined monthly reporting packs for commissioners

Supply Chain Management

Responsible Procurement

• Working with suppliers to align sustainability goals

Climate-Related Risks & Opportunities

Awards & Recognition

• Employer of the Year at the University of Sunderland and MTC Training Awards