For a number of people, groups and politicians, the British National Health System is one of the UK’s proudest achievements; developed by the Liberals and implemented by Labour, it has come, even for the Conservative party, initial oposers to the idea, to stand for a sense of the importance of welfare in the British state.

Continuing that tradition of doing the best for UK citizens, it has now been praised by the World Health Organisation for its notable achievements in reduction of carbon emissions. Healthcare without Harm have echoed the World Health Organisation’s praise, though offering some constructive criticism their international coordinator stating that “The NHS is a world leader in this effort to reduce emissions and the only national health care system to have a comprehensive strategy for this. More needs to be done, however, in terms of making hospitals carbon neutral, and focusing more on disease prevention.”

As a national institution that is recognised worldwide, supporters of the moves will be hoping that the NHS in the UK has set a benchmark, and an example for others to follow. The praise is perfect timing, too, for the UK government, who’s Department of Energy and Climate Change took something of a journalistic beating over lack of energy efficiency in their own departmental building, and are under pressure from several lobbies on various potential deals involving coal-fired power stations, tidal power, and nuclear energy.

This praise of the NHS, then, claws back some environmental credibility for New Labour, who some argue are playing with spin when it comes to environmental policy in the UK.  As a state-run service, the government has in the environmental performance of the NHS, a trump card for its environmental endeavours.

If environmentalism can be nationalised, then, the example set by the NHS is an important ace-in-the-hole for the UK government. The director of the NHS sustainable development unit, David Penchon, “If the government is imploring people to take this seriously then the public sector has an important role to play. The NHS has a huge contribution to make.”

That the NHS is once again leading the field, though, is good news for environmentalists and supports of the welfare state in general.