Modernising Public Sector Estates: Shared challenges, shared solutions
When a few weeks ago we brought together NHS trusts, local authorities, public sector bodies and infrastructure specialists for an event titled Modernising Public Sector Estates through Energy as a Service – the GSTT Framework, we set out to share the story of Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust's Strategic Energy Partnership and the framework that has emerged from it. By the end of the day, however, one message stood out above all others: organisations across the public sector are facing many of the same challenges.
Representatives from NHS trusts, local government, public sector agencies and organisations supporting the delivery of decarbonisation programmes came together to discuss how they can modernise ageing infrastructure, improve resilience, meet ambitious carbon reduction targets and balance growing investment needs against constrained budgets. Attendees included organisations such as King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, Lewisham and Greenwich NHS Trust, London Councils, MET Police and a range of other NHS and public sector stakeholders, alongside advisers and delivery partners working across public sector decarbonisation programmes.
While every organisation's circumstances are different, the discussion repeatedly returned to a common set of questions. How do we replace ageing infrastructure without diverting funding from frontline services? How do we deliver meaningful decarbonisation while maintaining resilience? How do we develop projects that are technically robust, commercially viable and attractive to long-term investors? And how do we move from ambition to delivery?
The GSTT programme was presented as one response to those challenges.
The event opened with remarks from Mary Aladegbola, Senior Net Zero Technical Energy Lead at NHS England, who highlighted the scale of the challenge facing healthcare estates nationally and the need for organisations to find practical routes to achieving their net zero ambitions while continuing to deliver safe, effective services. Her presentation set the scene for a day focused not only on decarbonisation, but on the wider challenge of creating resilient, future-ready public sector estates.
Building on that context, the discussion turned to how organisations can respond to those challenges in practice. Hosted by Simon Newland, Programme Director at Guy's and St Thomas' NHS Foundation Trust, the event used GSTT's Strategic Energy Partnership as a case study in developing a long-term approach to infrastructure investment, estate modernisation and decarbonisation. Through presentations from GSTT and the wider delivery team, attendees heard how the Trust progressed from identifying the need to modernise critical energy infrastructure at St Thomas' Hospital to developing an Energy as a Service model, procuring a Strategic Energy Partner and establishing a framework capable of supporting future projects.
The event also explored the commercial, financial, legal and technical considerations required to transform what begins as an engineering challenge into a long-term infrastructure investment programme.
A key theme throughout the day was that successful estate modernisation requires much more than technology alone. The most effective solutions are those that bring together technical expertise, commercial thinking, investment, procurement, governance and long-term operational delivery. The collaboration between GSTT, Meridiam, Dalkia, Amberside Advisors, Buro Happold, Capsticks LLP and EcoVate demonstrated how these disciplines can work together to create a scalable route to delivery.
Perhaps the clearest indication of how widely these challenges are shared came during the Q&A session. What began as a traditional audience discussion quickly evolved into a broader conversation on estate resilience, business case development, procurement, governance, risk allocation and funding models. The session extended well beyond its allocated slot, with conversations continuing throughout lunch and into the afternoon as attendees compared experiences and explored potential solutions with peers and specialists.
While organisations represented on the day varied significantly in size, remit and geography, many of the questions raised were strikingly similar. The discussion reinforced a simple but important point: no organisation is facing these challenges alone. Sharing experiences, lessons learned and practical approaches is becoming increasingly important as organisations look to accelerate estate modernisation while continuing to meet service and financial objectives.
For eligible organisations, the GSTT Energy as a Service Framework now provides a route to access a model that has already undergone significant technical, commercial, legal and procurement development. The framework is currently available to a defined group of organisations across South East London, including local NHS trusts, the South East London ICB and selected public sector bodies.
For others, we hope the event demonstrated both the opportunities and the practical realities involved in developing strategic approaches to estate modernisation, infrastructure investment and decarbonisation.
The conversations started on the day are only the beginning. Whether you are interested in exploring the framework itself, understanding GSTT's approach in more detail or discussing your own estate modernisation and decarbonisation ambitions, we would welcome the opportunity to continue the discussion.
To arrange a follow-up conversation with GSTT or members of the wider delivery team, please get in touch.
