Spotlight On – Collette Germon, Sustainability and Energy Manager

Posted by Devon Partnership Trust in #ProudofDPT, News on 23rd January, 2024

We spoke to Collette Germon, Sustainability and Energy Manager, about her role, her current priorities and what achievements she’s most proud of.

What is the main purpose of your role? And what does a typical day look like?

All aspects of my role relate to the Green Plan, which outlines our plans to work towards the NHS’s net zero commitments.

Some of my tasks include:

• Monitoring utility usage and identifying errors within energy bills
• Regular meetings with Energy Account Managers
• Arranging installation of Automated Meter Readings (AMRS) and repairs to existing meters Raising awareness of how we can save money through better energy management, to reusing equipment and reducing waste
• Presenting energy data for sites
• Accessing salaried sacrifice electric vehicle suppliers
• Acquiring trees for our various sites to encourage biodiversity
• Uploading data returns to Greener NHS to benchmark against other Trusts
• Procurement of contractors and helping procurement score tenders against sustainability matrix

What are your current priorities? 

I’m currently updating the Green Plan and the associated targets which are published by NHS England in various documents:

• Technical Annex - NHS Estates Net Zero Carbon Delivery Plan Published October 2022
• Net Zero Building Standards published February 2023
• NHS Clinical Waste Strategy published March 2023
• Travel And Transport Strategy published November 2023
• Annual updates to the NHS Standard Contract

I am also reviewing opportunities for alternative energy sources such as solar and district heating systems.

Additionally, I am working on an internal campaign to bring more awareness to our efforts around sustainability. Keep an eye out for the sustainability content panel on the homepage and articles in the staff bulletin and DAISY to see how you can help. Saving energy and thinking sustainably is something we should all be doing, at home and in the workplace.

What qualifications and training do you have? And what career paths have you taken?   

I have a NEBOSH Environmental Diploma, a WAMITAB waste management diploma and an Energy Institute qualification. I’m also a member of the Chartered Institute of Waste Management.

I predominantly worked within Waste Management at Torbay and South Devon NHS Foundation Trust (TSDFT) for nearly 12 years. Prior to this, I worked as the Environmental Officer at Torbay Care Trust. My 14 years’ experience in sustainability doesn’t seem enough at times. Technology and science are constantly evolving. Sustainability is massive and can be applied to everything we do as everything generates carbon.

Alongside work, I am a Parish Councillor. This involves reviewing planning applications, monetary grants for local funding, speeding discussions and promoting national events like the Jubilee. It is very complimentary to my full time role and I enjoy being involved in the community.

Every day I feel I am constantly learning as science and awareness improves on the impact of climate change. I think it’s great the government recognise the importance of the environment. However, there are many conflicting decisions and there is no one size fits all solution. Obtaining any outcome can be time consuming as we need to collect evidence and that can be frustrating.

What are some of the challenges you face in this role? 

Keeping up to date with the science and legislation, and recognising greenwashing is challenging. So many people sell things that appear green but are not really solving the problem. An example being flushable wet wipes; many have not been approved by authorising water regulators and just create microplastic in the watercourses. 

What do you enjoy most about this role? 

I used to say I love going to work to save the planet. While I think that may be true, I know I’m a long way off! I am able to influence a small proportion of individuals or CO2 being released. Globally, climate change is huge, with the effects unfortunately being seen year-on-year in the UK with wetter winters and hotter and dryer summers. I don’t think that stops me being passionate, because doing nothing isn’t an option. We have to start somewhere. I love the variety of the role, although it is a massive undertaking, as sustainability is part of everything we do.

On another note, all the other Sustainability Officers I meet across other organisations are great to share knowledge with and help prevent reinventing the wheel.

What motivates you? 

I don’t believe my passion was sparked in any attempt to save carbon, probably more to do with saving money. Everything we did when I was growing up was about saving money; turning off the lights, saving water, growing vegetables, reusing items and walking was the only option. I feel like I am still following that mantra but rather than it being seen as ‘penny pinching’, it is now something that is seen as good environmental behaviour.

If I am not the one working and doing the calculations in the future, I would like to think that the work I have started can be continued and developed upon to monitor the trajectory to 2040.

What achievement are you most proud of? 

There are quite a few achievements but I think one of the most recent was being awarded £41k government money for heat decarbonisation plans in June 2022. I had little understanding of what the outcome would achieve, but I have enjoyed managing the project and reaching an end goal. It has been very fulfilling and provides useful information which will hopefully help future applications and projects.

Some of the little achievements are sometimes more rewarding than the big monetary goals because I feel like I am slowly making progress. In my opinion this role was never meant to be a sprint, but a jog.

What's the best bit of feedback you have received from a service user or colleague?  

I like it when people ask questions. I once visited a ward to do a waste audit and a patient asked me what I was doing and they looked very uninterested in my initial response. They were polite and asked a question which led to me telling them all about the food waste cycle, from fork to bin and back to the farm. They then asked lots of questions and I could tell by their demeanour that their outlook changed from my work being a dull auditing task to a process that had lots of hidden possibilities.

I like it when I come away feeling like I have made a small impact or potentially changed people’s behaviour for the better.   

What do you do to unwind? 

Listening to farming podcasts while digging on the allotment. It isn’t always the farming techniques that are interesting but how the farmers have diversified to make their businesses viable; from planting willow on the bank of a river to prevent erosion, to installing solar panels to heat their chicken coop (which means they spend less on grain), or no-till farming where the soil is not disturbed. My favourite podcasts are ‘Rock & Roll Farming’ or the ‘Nature Friendly Farming Podcast’.

And finally… how would you sum up your role in one word? 

Evolving.