Sustainable Kidney Care Project
Kidney care is one of the most resource-intensive specialities in healthcare, making it a key focus for achieving sustainability goals. Recognising this, the Centre of Sustainable Healthcare has partnered with Greener NHS, the UK Kidney Association, and Health Innovation North -East and North Cumbria to lead on developing a pioneering initiative to make kidney care more sustainable. This project will aim to reduce the carbon footprint of kidney care while delivering cost savings and conserving water, while continuing to deliver high quality care to patients.
What is the Sustainable Kidney Care Project?
This project aims to provide a benchmarking framework for sustainable kidney care best practice, and disseminate it throughout the UK’s renal care networks through our renal care champions. This framework will then track and measure progress, whilst also encouraging implementation of more sustainable kidney care.
The long term goal of this project is to embed sustainable practices throughout the kidney care pathway, demonstrating how speciality care can contribute to the Greener NHS’s net zero goals by reducing resource intensity and fostering a culture of sustainable practice, while delivering the best outcomes for our patients.
The opportunity
Drawing from analysis of case studies created in 2009-12 through CSH’s Green Nephrology programme, CSH estimates that scaling 20 proven green innovations across UK kidney centres could achieve annual savings of:
- £7 million in costs,
- 11,000 tonnes of CO2e, and
- 470 million litres of water.
To unlock this potential, a comprehensive benchmarking framework is needed to track progress, encourage implementation, and provide the necessary tools and guidance for sustainable kidney care.
Project objectives
- Benchmarking Framework:
Develop a robust system to track and measure progress across kidney centres. Reporting will be based on a set of 10-15 evidence-based interventions for sustainable care, enabling centres to easily record progress in implementing changes. - Data Sharing Mechanism:
Establish a system for collecting and sharing data from kidney centres, with pilot data from 60 centres helping to shape the benchmarking framework. This work will be undertaken in collaboration with the UK Renal Registry and the UK Kidney Association. - Engagement and Leadership:
Foster sustainability leadership in kidney care by training 60 active “Kidney Centre Sustainability Champions” across England’s 250 kidney centres (48 main adult centres, 9 paediatric centres and approximately 200 satellite centres). Champions will receive training, engage in an online network, and lead local implementation projects. Establish a Community of Practice to enable peer learning across the regional renal networks. - Modelling Impact:
Model the carbon, cost, and water savings achievable through these interventions. Provide data-driven targets for reducing CO2e emissions by 200, 500, or 1,000 tonnes over two years. - Sharing Learnings:
Publish a summary report of insights and best practices for implementing sustainability initiatives within a clinical speciality.
Benchmarking framework.
This benchmarking framework produced by CSH in partnership with the UK Kidney association, is an essential tool for all kidney care practitioners to easily record progress in implementing changes.
This tool is currently in development between CSH and the UKCC, and will be coming soon.
Kidney Centre Sustainability Champions
CSH are working with regional network managers to build on the UKKA-CSH Kidney Unit Sustainability Champions scheme, and recruit 60 Sustainable Kidney Champions throughout the UK by July 2025.
The existing Kidney Unit Sustainability Champion Scheme (set up by UKKA and CSH in 2023) is designed to promote leadership and foster innovation in sustainable practices within renal care. The scheme appoints Sustainability Champions in renal units across the UK, who serve as advocates for embedding environmentally sustainable practices in clinical operations.
This large scale recruitment campaign will expand on this and create 60 dedicated roles with expanded responsibilities and clear guidance, resources and specialist training provided by CSH.
By becoming a Kidney Centre Sustainability Champion, healthcare professionals can lead quality improvement initiatives and gain opportunities for skill development, networking, and collaboration with patients and multidisciplinary teams to co-create sustainable solutions.
If you have any questions or need more information, please contact Lucy Brown, CSH’s EU Horizon Clinical Lead and Project Lead for the Sustainable Kidney Project.