We caught up with Humber and North Yorkshire Health and Care Partnership’s new senior net zero programme manager, Neil Cartwright to find out more about his experiences and future aspirations for the Humber and North Yorkshire’s Sustainability and Net Zero programme.
Who are you and what do you do?
My name is Neil Cartwright, I live in Cleethorpes, in North East Lincolnshire and I am excited, and a little humbled, to have been appointed to the Greener NHS Regional Team as the Net Zero Programme Lead for the Humber and North Yorkshire ICB.
I am blessed to now be working with incredible colleagues from across the region who are dedicated to both reducing the environmental impact of our sector and ensuring that we build the necessary resilience for a future that is now inevitably seeing the irreversible effects of climate change.
I believe that in the last few years even the most cynical are now clearly seeing the destructive effects of climate change, whether it is the heatwave pushing the UK to over 40°C this year, the horrendous wildfires in Australia or the current flooding in Pakistan.
For me this is the work of our lives and it is the responsibility of all of us in the health and care sector and beyond to pull together to meet this climate crisis head on, we owe it to future generations.
What is your professional experience of the NHS?
I joined the NHS in 2009, starting out in the Care Directorate of North East Lincolnshire Care Trust Plus. After a few years we formed Care Plus Group (CPG), a Community Benefit Society and in 2011 I transferred with hundreds of my colleagues into this brand new social enterprise provider organisation as Head of Service. I enjoyed working with brilliant teams and had responsibility for a range of departments including Estates, Business Development, Marketing and Comms, Employability, Day Services and, of course, our Environmental Impact.
I am proud to have been a staff member of Care Plus Group – the organisation employs brilliant people and does great work in the communities of North East Lincolnshire and beyond.
Organisations like CPG and the other social enterprises that operate in our region have social and environmental responsibility “baked into” their constitutions and their enthusiasm for reducing their impact on the environment is profound.
Tell us a bit about your life outside work?
Living in Cleethorpes, near the Prom’ is handy for paddleboarding after work – my family and I love it here. I have a bit of a weightlifting habit and I drink way too much coffee. I thrive on learning new things and in my spare time I am training as a counsellor over in Hull.
You can find out more about Neil and his experiences with sustainability and net zero via his LinkedIn profile.