Carbon reduction policy

Introduction

Hero Health recognises that climate change is a health issue as well as an environmental one, and that every organisation working in and alongside the NHS has a part to play in reducing the carbon footprint of healthcare.

We are a small software company. Our direct environmental impact is modest — we do not manufacture, we do not operate clinical premises, and we do not run a vehicle fleet. Our impact comes mainly from the energy used by our offices and our cloud infrastructure, from how our people travel, and from the choices we make when we buy technology and services.

This policy sets out the principles we apply and the practical steps we take. It is deliberately a statement of how we work rather than a schedule of numerical targets: we would rather make commitments we can genuinely keep and act on day to day than publish figures we are not resourced to measure or verify.

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to:

Set out Hero Health's environmental principles and the behaviours we expect of our people
Ensure that environmental impact is a considered factor in our operational and technology decisions
Support our NHS customers and partners in their own sustainability work
Provide a clear, honest statement of our position for customers, partners and prospective employees

Scope

This policy covers the areas of our operations where we can make a practical difference:

Office energy use and day-to-day working practices
Cloud infrastructure and IT equipment
Business travel and working patterns
Procurement of technology, services and supplies
Waste, particularly electronic waste
The design of our products, where they can reduce carbon in healthcare delivery

Audience

This policy applies to:

All Hero Health employees, whether full-time, part-time, temporary or casual
Contractors and consultants engaged by Hero Health
The Board and leadership team

We also share it with suppliers and partners where relevant.

Policy framework

We are aware of, and supportive of, the wider context in which we operate:

The Health and Care Act 2022, which placed net zero duties on NHS organisations
The Greener NHS programme, and the role of digital technology within it
Our customers' own Green Plans and sustainability commitments

Where an NHS customer or partner asks us to support a specific sustainability requirement, we will engage with it constructively and provide whatever information we reasonably hold.

Our commitments

Hero Health commits to the following principles:

We will treat environmental impact as a genuine factor in decision-making. When we choose infrastructure, suppliers, equipment or ways of working, environmental impact will be one of the considerations weighed alongside cost, security, clinical safety and performance. It will not always be the deciding factor, but it will be a factor.

We will prefer the lower-impact option where it is otherwise comparable. Where two choices are broadly equivalent on cost and capability, we will take the one with the lower environmental impact.

We will avoid waste. Energy, equipment and cloud resource that is not being used is waste, and we will take reasonable steps to identify and eliminate it.

We will be honest about what we do and do not measure. We will not claim environmental credentials we cannot support, and we will not publish figures we have not properly calculated.

We will build products that help. Digital tools that reduce unnecessary travel and paper in healthcare are part of our contribution, and we will continue to design with that in mind.

Practical measures

Office and working practices

Lights, monitors, screens and equipment are switched off when not in use and at the end of the day
Heating and air conditioning are used sensibly — not run with windows or doors open, and turned down or off outside working hours
We default to digital documents rather than printing, and print double-sided when printing is necessary
We use recycling facilities available in our premises, and dispose of waste responsibly
We choose energy-efficient equipment and lighting when replacing items

Cloud infrastructure and IT

We host with major cloud providers, all of which operate their own renewable energy and efficiency programmes at a scale we could not achieve independently
We consider environmental impact alongside cost and performance when making infrastructure decisions, including the choice of region, service and provider
We decommission unused environments, instances and storage rather than leaving them running
We keep hardware in service for its full useful life and avoid unnecessary replacement cycles
Retired IT equipment is reused internally, donated, or disposed of through a responsible electronics recycling route — never sent to general waste

Travel and working patterns

Meetings are held remotely by default; travel should be for occasions where being in the room genuinely matters
Where travel is necessary within the UK, rail is preferred to flying
We support hybrid and flexible working, which reduces commuting
We encourage walking, cycling and public transport for commuting, and support available schemes that make this easier

Procurement

Environmental impact is one of the factors we consider when selecting suppliers and services
Where a supplier has published environmental or carbon commitments, we take that positively into account
We avoid unnecessary purchasing, over-ordering and single-use plastics where practical alternatives exist

Products

Where our software reduces the need for patients and clinicians to travel, or removes paper from a process, we recognise that as part of our environmental contribution
We will support customers who ask us to help them understand the environmental benefits of digital ways of working

Roles and responsibilities

Director

Owns this policy and is accountable for it
Ensures environmental considerations are represented in significant operational and technology decisions
Approves the policy and any revisions

Leadership team

Sets the tone and models the behaviours described in this policy
Ensures environmental impact is raised as a consideration in relevant decisions within their areas

All employees

Follow the practical measures set out above as part of normal working
Raise suggestions where they see waste or an opportunity to do better
Take part in awareness activities

Awareness and training

Environmental awareness is covered as part of employee induction and revisited periodically. This is proportionate to our size — a short briefing on what this policy asks of people and why, rather than a formal training programme.

We will remind the team of the practical measures in this policy from time to time, and welcome suggestions for improvement from anyone in the company.

Review

This policy is reviewed annually by the Document Owner, or sooner if:

Our size, premises or operating model change materially
An NHS customer or partner raises a requirement this policy does not address
Relevant legislation or NHS guidance changes

Revisions are approved by the Director and recorded in the version history in accordance with the Hero Health Document Control Standard.