Care UK's bid to make care homes more environmentally friendly

Care UK has launched a two-month pilot scheme designed to make its care homes more environmentally friendly.

The initiative, which has so far been launched at 11 facilities across the country, will help staff examine ways of reducing their carbon footprint.

Each home involved will appoint its own eco ambassador who will be responsible for finding new and creative ways to look after the planet. They will be encouraged to follow a number of guidelines as part of the pilot, including cutting wasteful use of electricity and water, using water butts in gardens and carrying out energy saving activities, such as monitoring the use of heaters.

Care UK staff will also encourage residents to take part in the pilot by recycling paper and plastic.

Mark Rudkins, property services director, said: “I can see a huge opportunity and sense enormous willingness in the homes to reduce our impact on the environment.

“The key to success is everyone making little changes to their daily routines, such as switching off lights when leaving a room, using the right waste bin and not leaving taps running. Our eco ambassadors will help us by leading the change at a local level and helping us find new ways to be eco-friendly. I’ll be taking a personal interest in the feedback from those homes participating in the pilot and I look forward to launching the roll out later this year.”