Green Nursing Challenge 2025
The Green Nursing Challenge is a CSH led project to support nurses to lead on sustainable healthcare initiatives and implement improvements to patient care with additional benefits of reducing costs and carbon emissions.
The Green Nursing Challenge has been fully funded by Micro-Tech UK and is working in partnership with the Queens Nursing Institute and the Foundation of Nursing Studies.
The Challenge is a national adaptation of the Centre for Sustainable healthcare’s Green Specialty Challenge and Green Team Competition – an award-winning, tried & tested leadership and engagement programme to transform healthcare by cutting carbon, improving patient care and staff experience, and saving money. The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare have been successfully reducing environmental impact and building social value in healthcare through the competition for 9 years.
What is the Green Nursing Challenge?
The NHS has committed to achieving NetZero emissions by 2040, extending to suppliers by 2045. Nurses, the largest group within healthcare, and most trusted profession, play a crucial role. By making changes in working practices, nurses can lead action to minimise the environmental harm created from healthcare
services while improving outcomes and experiences for patients and staff.
The Green Nursing Challenge is a competition designed to promote sustainable practices in nursing to meet the NHS Net Zero targets. The project is national, fully funded by Micro-Tech UK, and in partnership with the Queens Nursing Institute and the Foundation of Nursing Studies.
The project will align net zero actions with clinical and patient priorities, and aim to improve patient outcomes/experiences, reduce costs and the environmental impact of healthcare. It will utilise CSH’s SusQI approach and engage service users directly to increase the understanding of nursing sustainability and equity hotspots. Environmental, social and economic benefits will be quantified at individual project level and modelled at a scaled national level.
Why is the Green Nursing Challenge important?
The NHS is responsible for 4% of the UKs carbon footprint, and is contributing to the environmental and ecological crisis. The effects of Climate change disproportionately impact the most vulnerable people in society, further exacerbating health issues, and placing further strain on health services.
Climate change and healthcare inequalities are inextricably linked. Disadvantaged communities are often more exposed to environmental hazards, are less able to recover from these hazards, and often have reduced access to high-quality healthcare.
Nurses can play a crucial role in achieving the NHS’ NetZero targets. By making changes in working practices, nurses can lead action to minimise the environmental harm created from healthcare services, and can help address health inequalities, improve outcomes and experiences, and contribute to a more sustainable healthcare system.
“All nurses should be thinking about how we protect our patients, our resources and our planet. Nurses are resourceful problem solvers and often see the hidden solutions to an issue. Taking part in the Green Nursing Challenge will be an extraordinary opportunity to make a difference and start to address some of the problems from the ground up.”
Amanda Young, Director of Nursing Programmes, The Queen’s Nursing Institute
How will the Green Nursing Challenge work?
Six nursing teams will be selected to take part in the Green Nursing Challenge. Each will receive mentoring and support from the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) to develop, run and measure outcomes of sustainable quality improvement, or ‘SusQI’ projects. The carbon reduction potential of the projects will be estimated using a process-based carbon footprinting method where possible, supplemented by environmentally extended input-output analysis.
Each team will attend regular workshops, and supported by CSH staff, throughout the project phase of the Challenge. After the final submission, all applications will submit their work and present to a judging panel at a Celebration event – where a winner will be decided. All the projects will be shared by the CSH and via the links of its partners.
Timeline & key dates
Project management December 2024-September 2026
- Launch & Recruitment – 28th January 2025
- Recruitment closes – Friday 21st March 2025
- Shortlisting – Week commencing 24th March 2025
- Workshops – April – May 2025
- Project Phase – project deadline – August 2025
- Showcase event – October 2025
- 1 year review impact analysis – To be published September 2026
- Impact – will be reviewed at one year after event
The Launch event
Join us at our Launch Event on Teams on 28th January at 12pm -1pm to hear more about the Green Nursing Challenge.We’ll hear from Centre for Sustainable Healthcare’s Lucy Brown, about why nurses are best placed to lead change; and from our Challenge partners Amanda Young from the Queen’s Nursing Institute and Joanne Bosanquet from the Foundation of Nursing Studies about why they’re collaborating with us.
The recruitment phase
This phase of the competition is designed to bring together six teams from all over the UK. The project is fully funded by Micro-Tech UK, and is open to all healthcare professionals in nursing care. We will allocate 3 out of the six teams from nurses in community settings, and 3 from teams in secondary care, so whether you are a community nurse, a ward based nurse, a dental nurse, newly qualified, nurse manager or clinical specialist, or any other type of nursing professional at all, we want to hear from you!
How to apply
If you are interested in bringing together and leading a Green Nursing Challenge and run a project that will make your work or practice more sustainable, please review the applicant information and fill in the application form below. We will be in touch with you by 7th April 2025.
The teams
Please come back to see further updates on this exciting project soon.
For more information please contact Angela Hayes, CSH’s project lead.