Environmental sustainability | Kaitiakitanga

On this page

• Sustainability at the Bay of Plenty District Health Board
• Our framework for environmental sustainability
• How we manage our responsibilties
• Our action plans
• Our carbon footprint
• Our sustainability priorities

Sustainability at the Bay of Plenty District Health Board

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board (BOPDHB) views its sustainability principles and organisational purpose and vision holistically.

We understand that while our work has positive outcomes for our people, it consumes resources and impacts the environment, and therefore goals must be set to reduce these impacts as much as possible, and to regenerate the environment where we can.

By applying the concepts of the Kaitiakitanga Framework for Environmental Sustainability, we aim to work with our stakeholders to protect our environment, culture, society, and economic stability, to enable our communities to get well, live well, and stay well.

Our framework for environmental sustainability

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board's Kaitiakitanga Framework for Environmental Sustainability sets the scene for how sustainability is understood by the organisation.

Put simply, BOPDHB has committed to:

• show internal and external leadership in environmentally sustainable practice
• be accountable for its environmental/carbon footprint
• be committed to finding and embedding sustainable solutions for all business practices (including those related to waste, energy, water, transportation, food, built environment, and procurement)
• use its resources responsibly
• consider co-benefits (economic, health, social and environmental resilience/regeneration) during all decision-making processes
• be future focused, while reflecting on the past

This framework is in the process of being adopted across the organisation and has been fully endorsed by the Bay of Plenty District Health Board and Te Hauora Māori o Te Moana a Toi.

Kaitiakitanga Framework

How we manage our responsibilties

Sustainability is lead within the organisation by a full time Sustainability Manager guided and supported by:

• Sustainability Steering Group (high level decision making and guidance): Members: Executive and Senior Leadership representatives, Te Hauora Māori o Te Moana a Toi representatives, and Community representation.
• Clinical Green Team (greening clinical practice): Current Membership: 50+ Clinical Staff Members
• Non-Clinical Green Team (greening the non-clinical environment): Current Membership: 40+ Clinical and Non-Clinical Staff Members

For any queries relating to sustainability at Bay of Plenty District Health Board, please email sustainability@bopdhb.govt.nz.

Our action plans

BOPDHB has a significant list of environmental sustainability priorities, and a significant aspiration towards being carbon neutral, therefore tasks within these priorities must themselves be prioritised.

An Environmental Sustainability Action Plan is reviewed and updated annually for the two-year period ahead. The purpose of this action plan is to identify actions within these priorities that will be achieved over the coming two years. It may also indicate longer term objectives for these priorities, both internal and external (e.g. Ministry of Health or New Zealand Government Procurement).

The plan also reports on the achievements of the previous calendar year.

Environmental Sustainability Action Plan

Our carbon footprint

The Bay of Plenty District Health Board is accountable for its carbon footprint by being engaged with the Toitū Carbonreduce programme, and is a carbonreduce certified organisation. 

BOPDHB also publishes its carbon footprint information annually in its Annual Report (2020, p. 39).

For the financial year 2019 - 2020 BOPDHB's total measured carbon footprint was ~8,464 tCO2e. This was a reduction of 7.5% on the baseline year. How BOPDHB's carbon footprint is broken down is shown in the graph below.

For more information visit toitu.co.nz or review BOPDHB's Annual Report.

Our sustainability priorities

Bay of Plenty District Health Board has set 10 environmental sustainability priorities that align with the priorities of the Global Green and Health Hospitals initiative of which we are a member. These are briefly described below:

Leadership Prioritising environmental health as a strategic imperative. This includes staff engagement alongside broader communications endeavours which demonstrate leadership and commitment to environmental sustainability and carbon footprint reduction.

Accountability Accountability and commitment to change. This includes a specific focus on reporting and monitoring to inform our engagement with the Toitū Carbon Reduce programme, and setting annual goals, biennial action plans, and longer term carbon reduction targets.

Waste Reducing, treating, and safely disposing of healthcare waste. This includes understanding our waste footprint and setting targets and instigating solutions to reduce this footprint.

Energy Implementing energy efficiency and promoting and adopting clean, renewable energy generation. This is closely linked to the Built Environment priority and includes understanding our behaviours relating to energy use within the DHB.

Transport/Travel Improving transportation strategies for patients and staff. This includes implementing the recommendations from the BOPDHB Travel Plan.

Procurement Buying safer and more sustainable products and materials. This includes working with our current providers to ensure they are working towards more sustainable solutions.

Built Environment Supporting green and healthy design and construction, infrastructure use and operation. This includes considering Green Star and NABERS initiatives, and biophilic design principles, by adopting environmentally sustainable design principles.

Water Reducing hospital water consumption and promoting water as the drink of choice. This includes investigating solutions to ensure water is freely available on site for staff, patients, visitors and whānau.

Food Purchasing and serving healthy, sustainably grown food, reducing the carbon footprint created by food consumption where possible.  This includes investigating the feasibility of hospital-based community gardens.

Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation Understanding the impacts that climate change will have on our hospitals, our people and our communities. This includes adaptation planning and climate related risk mitigation.