Medicash become the UK's first carbon neutral health cash plan provider

Liverpool based health cash plan provider Medicash has announced that it has achieved carbon neutral status, making it the first company of its kind in the UK to do so.

The announcement comes as a result of the successful implementation of recommendations made in a carbon audit assessment carried out by Groundwork Merseyside.

Medicash offsets its carbon footprint by calculating the cash equivalent, multiplying this by a factor of ten and donating the resulting amount to the charity Cool Earth. Using donations, Cool Earth buys endangered rainforest on behalf of local communities and ensures it is kept safe for generations to come. This combats global warming, protects ecosystems and provides sustainable jobs for local people. Medicash also aims to forge links between local Merseyside schools and areas of the rainforest that have been bought to help promote awareness of environmental issues amongst the region's schoolchildren.

In addition to carbon offsetting Medicash are aiming to reduce their carbon footprint by a further 10% over the coming year. To help achieve this goal the company is limiting its company car policy to vehicles with low CO2 emissions and is continuing to actively promote interest free loans to staff for public transport season tickets, together with the Ride 2 Work initiative. As 2009 is Liverpool's Year of the Environment, businesses, residents and visitors are being encouraged to commit to reducing their carbon footprint; initiatives such as the ones Medicash has employed are some of the ways they can do this.

Medicash chief executive Sue Weir said of the news:

"As a socially responsible organisation with a history of charitable engagement we understand that it is vital for a company to be aware of the impact of its actions on the environment. Our relationship with Cool Earth ensures we are able to offset our carbon emissions but, equally importantly, our environmental policy signals a commitment on the part of every Medicash employee to change their day to day habits in order to help reduce our impact on the environment. We are also delighted to support Liverpool City Council and Liverpool First's joint initiative of Year of the Environment by continuing our commitment to green practices and hopefully inspiring other organisations to do the same."

Graham Barker, the business advisor from Groundwork Merseyside who carried out the Carbon Footprint Assessment on behalf of Medicash said:

"It is great to see clients move forward with any recommendation that comes out of this sort of review, it shows a real commitment from Medicash towards sustainability, and adds value to the work that we do. At Groundwork Merseyside we pride ourselves on the quality of our work, and to see a client take your recommendations through to fruition is very satisfying."

Medicash board member Frank Field MP is a one of the founding members of the charity Cool Earth and was delighted that Medicash had committed to supporting them and the crucial work they do to protect the environment.