Trust's Green Plan gets a boost thanks to Low Carbon Skills Fund

We visit Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust to find out more about its net zero vision for the future

Every day at Salix we champion the UK’s net zero goals.

As part of our work, it’s imperative to us that we listen and learn about the green goals of organisations around the country.

We recently had the opportunity to visit the teams at Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust to talk about its Green Plan.

In 2024 the trust successfully received a grant from Phase 5 of the Low Carbon Skills Fund.

The £664,974 award has meant the trust has been able to prepare a strategic plan to decarbonise part of its large estate and this has included creating a building audit, feasibility study, specialist technical site surveys, detailed designs and desktop assessments.

The trust has looked at five main sites where experts are developing detailed designs to allow for future capital investment.

It’s important work and could help the trust guide capital works in the future.

Our Low Carbon Skills Fund team, including client support officers Milo Challiner and Jude Bywater, joined our project co-ordinators Robert Throssell and Bea Golley to find out what difference the funds are making.

During our visit we were talked through the net zero vision by trust corporate property and sustainability manager Neil Cross.

Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust provides comprehensive health care services to those people living in Birmingham and Solihull as well as nationwide speciality services who are experiencing mental health problems. 

The Trust was established as Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health NHS Foundation Trust on 1 July 2008. 

Part of Neil’s job is to champion the trust’s net zero vision, driving change for its estates. He explained how the Low Carbon Skills Fund grant will help the organisation move forward with getting ready for heat decarbonisation of a small part of its estate. 

Neil said: “Having the Low Carbon Skills Fund grant is enabling the trust to develop schemes that, if implemented will really make a difference in terms of carbon reduction and our journey towards carbon net zero.”

However, Neil also explained that the trust faced a significant challenge in the lack of capital funding. He said he was keen to avoid schemes ‘sitting on the shelf’ due to a mismatch between revenue and capital or grant funding. 

The sites covered by the Low Carbon Skills Fund cover include; Ardenleigh Hospital, Juniper Centre, Lyndon Clinic, Little Bromwich Centre, Tamarind Centre and Shenley Fields Centre (which is conducting a heat decarbonisation plan only). 

Each design will be complete by end March 2025.

Robert Throssell added: “During site visits like this we not only get a clear idea of the vision of the organisation and how buildings can be transformed, but we see the passion from the individuals involved in a project.

“The trust has a very focused approach on how it will move to carbon net zero and we feel privileged to be following them on this journey.

“During our visit I was particularly struck by the determination of the team to find low carbon solutions to these buildings, despite the difficulties presented by the operational complexities of each site.”

The Low Carbon Skills Fund is a key part of the trust’s Carbon Net Zero - Our Green Plan 2021 - 2026 which embeds environmental and sustainability principles into business as usual processes.

The Foundation’s Green Plan focuses on a ‘green currency’ which is a new way of discussing vision and values or targets equivalent to the financial.

Thank you to Birmingham and Solihull Mental Health Foundation Trust for hosting our team on the day and sharing your net zero vision.