Ambulance UK June 2023

NEWSLINE
Essex & Herts Air
Ambulance taking
steps to a greener
future
To coincide with Earth Day on
Saturday the 22nd April, Essex
& Herts Air Ambulance (EHAAT)
released some of the data
around the work it is doing on
sustainability.
Important for the life-saving
charity is its commitment, to make
the very best choices for the
environment, its people, and the
community. And for the last five
years, EHAAT has been working
to assess sustainability across
the whole organisation, identifying
new opportunities to further
reduce its environmental impact.
This work has been carried out in
conjunction with Carbon Footprint
Ltd who, in its most recent
Carbon Footprint Appraisal report,
has concluded that the charity has
achieved a reduction of 21.2% in
absolute emissions. This means
that EHAAT has qualified to use
the Carbon Footprint Standard
branding on all its marketing
materials, to demonstrate
its carbon management
achievements.
A pivotal part of the reduction
attained is down to the
construction of EHAAT’s new
airbase at North Weald, which
was completed in February
2021. It was designed with
environmental considerations as
a priority and achieved an energy
performance certificate (EPC)
grading of A, the highest possible.
The results with regard to electricity
costs for the new 24/7 building
are impressive. This is put down
to the fact that the new airbase
went above and beyond the
required building regulations, with
additional initiatives incorporated
that included the installation of
photovoltaic (PV) panels on the
roof, motion sensor lighting inside
the building, and an all-electric
heating and cooling system.
Yet for EHAAT, sustainability is not
just isolated to North Weald, it is
also being carried across to its
sister airbase at Earls Colne, as
well as spreading out through its
clinical and retail operations.
For instance, two out of the fleet
of four rapid response vehicles
are now plug-in hybrid vehicles,
and the order is in for two further
vehicles to ensure the fleet is totally
hybrid within the next few months.
Also, EHAAT’s nine charity shops
across the region, as well as its
donation centre in Stevenage
provide a sustainable and ethical
option when people dispose of
unwanted goods, promoting reuse
and recycling to reduce landfill
and make a positive difference to
the UK’s carbon footprint.
As well as electric vehicle
charging points at both airbases
and charity headquarters at Earls
Colne, additional steps have
been implemented to improve
waste segregation and recycling.
The Earls Colne airbase is also
benefiting from PV panels on the
roof, and a new electric eco boiler
heating system.
Cliff Gale is Special Projects
Adviser for the charity, with one
of his remits being managing
sustainability.
He said: “As primarily a helicopter
operator, there is no getting away
from the fact that we are a carbon
hungry operation, especially when
it comes to fuel. However, we are
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