Public hospitals among the worst polluters in UK

A recent survey on the amount of carbon gases emitted by public offices in Wales and England reveals that prisons and hospitals are the worst producers.

In total, 28,000 public buildings emit nearly 14 million tonnes of carbon gas per year. The total emission shows a 27 per cent raise on earlier estimates of the impact of public properties on climate change. Royal London Hospital and Scotland Yard are among the well-known infrastructures with the worst green records.

The results came from the UK government’s most comprehensive assessment on public sector’s contribution to global warming. Paul King, CEO of the UK Green Building Council, urged the UK government, as the country’s biggest procurer of buildings, to roll out a massive plan of refurbishment.

Since October 2008, public buildings have been obliged by the law to display the record of their carbon emissions, placing them in a colour-coded ranking from A to G – with grade A being the best. Over 5,000 buildings were ranked G, while only 151 were graded with A.

According to the list, eight of the 10 lowest ranked public buildings are hospitals. The worst performing G-rated hospital, the Royal London in Whitechapel, emits 46,218 tonnes of carbon gas in a year. The next most polluting was Cambridge’s Addenbrooke Hospital and Nottingham’s Queen Medical Centre.

The worst prisons were the Grove Institute in Dorset and Pentonville Prison in London, which together produce over 16,500 tonnes of carbon gas per annum. In addition, the Scotland Yard uses so much heating, cooling and lighting that the building emits 13,491 tonnes per year, making it the worst performing police station in Wales and England.