Green Energy investment at Great Ormond Street Hospital

07 January 2011

Donation helping to create greenest hospital buildings

Clean electricity provider Green Energy UK is helping to create London’s greenest hospital buildings by donating all its winnings from a national customer service competition towards the redevelopment of Great Ormond Street Hospital. The redevelopment programme will see a space of 20,000 square metres cleared for brand new buildings to house operating theatres and outpatient wards, allowing more children to be treated. The hospital is reducing its carbon emissions year on year and will be increasing its renewable contribution by creating its own carbon-free electricity to power buildings. Additionally, many of the new buildings will have green roofs, encouraging biodiversity in the city.

Hertfordshire-based Green Energy UK, which provides green and renewable electricity to homes and businesses across the UK, won Cisco’s Customer Kings competition for its outstanding customer service, netting a £5,000 prize. This donation now forms part of a huge investment by the hospital to provide world-class facilities for patients as well as finding new and improved ways to treat childhood illnesses. Green Energy UK founder and Managing Director, Doug Stewart, says: “I know from personal experience what a great organisation Great Ormond Street Hospital is. It pioneers research to provide future generations with preventative medicine as well as cures and remedies, and it’s trying to build the greenest facilities around, so it’s sustainable too, which really fits with Green Energy UK’s work towards a cleaner environment.” The redevelopment programme is currently in its second phase, due to complete in May 2012. The programme is estimated to offset in excess of 20,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions, with a combined heat and power (CHP) unit providing the hospital’s heating and cooling as well as its own renewable electricity. This has the capability to be switched over to run on sustainable bio-fuels that have been generated from waste. Green CHP and energy from waste are two areas of specialism for Green Energy UK.

Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Director of Development, Bill McGill, says: “This work underlines Great Ormond Street's commitment to maintaining and advancing its position as one of the world’s leading centres for paediatric care and research.”

Donations None of Great Ormond Street’s groundbreaking work to help sick children would be possible without the help of donations. By September this year, Great Ormond Street needs to raise the remaining £300,000 towards a new £4m neurosurgery operating theatre. You can help the hospital reach its target by donating - please call 020 7239 3131 or visit www.gosh.org/donate