Canterbury District Health Board is now Energy-Mark Silver certified

Thanks to the hard work, expertise and commitment of Canterbury DHB’s energy management team, including our Energy Manager Tim Emson, last week the DHB earned a well-deserved Energy-Mark® Silver certification from Enviro-Mark Solutions, the leading provider of environmental certification in New Zealand.

Hospitals and other healthcare facilities use a lot of energy – notably in heating systems and electrical power. To save costs, including environmental costs, Canterbury DHB is concerned to reduce energy consumption wherever possible. This requires careful management by our in-house team of energy planning and engineering specialists.

Canterbury DHB is also committed to reducing its carbon footprint through use of more environmentally sustainable energy sources, notably our environmentally friendly wood waste boilers at Burwood Hospital and Hillmorton Hospital. A similar approach is in the planning stages for the replacement boilers on the Christchurch Hospital campus.

In October 2016, Canterbury DHB was awarded Energy-Mark Bronze certification for our energy management system. The Energy-Mark Silver certification builds on these achievements, requiring the DHB to carefully outline objectives and targets for energy management and create specific energy projects to reduce energy use. Our energy use performance is being tracked over time and will be communicated to staff and to the public. Also at the Silver level, consideration is made for the training and awareness needs of staff who have a significant impact on energy use.

According to Dr Belinda Mathers, General Manager Technical from Enviro-Mark Solutions, a Silver level certification is a significant achievement. “At Silver level, certified organisations have a functioning energy management system with plans in place for monitoring and targets for improving energy efficiency. This puts your organisation in the group of most aware and proactive companies in New Zealand. On behalf of Enviro-Mark Solutions, thank you for your efforts to reduce your impact on the global climate.”

Canterbury DHB chief executive, David Meates, said this Award is great news for the organisation. “Energy management in a very large organisation like our DHB is a tremendously complex matter. It’s also vital to the current and future health of our communities that we achieve sustainable, environmentally aware energy use. Tim Emson and his expert team have done a fantastic job to achieve this Silver Energy-Mark Award – and of course, we’re going for Gold next!