NHS England green plan resources and support
NHS England’s 2020 strategy “Delivering a Net Zero National Health Service” and the 2021/22 NHS Standard Contract set out the requirement for Trusts and Integrated Care Systems to develop a Green Plan.
Since 2008, the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare has worked with healthcare providers to create a variety of resources, tools, networks and training programmes that will be of use in implementing your Green Plan, measuring its impact using ’triple bottom line’ metrics (environmental, social and financial), and collaborating with external partners across the wider integrated care system.
For healthcare organisations in Wales, please view our Decarbonisation Action Plan resources here. For healthcare organisations in Scotland, please view our Sustainability Strategy resources instead. Healthcare organisations outside of NHS England, NHS Scotland and NHS Wales looking to develop their sustainability plans may also find these resources useful.
What is an NHS green plan?
NHS England has established a target of becoming net zero by 2040, with the goal of achieving an 80% reduction by 2028–2032. In October 2020, NHS England published its new strategy – Delivering a Net Zero National Health Service. To support delivery of this national strategy at local level, the 2021/22 NHS Standard Contract set out the requirement for Trusts and Integrated Care Systems to develop a Green Plan. The plan should detail the approach and practical steps they will take over a 3 year cycle towards reducing their emissions in line with the national trajectories. Outcomes from the Green Plans (link is external)will:
- Ensure every NHS organisation is supporting the NHS-wide ambition to become the world’s first healthcare system to reach net zero carbon emissions
- Prioritise interventions which simultaneously improve patient care and community wellbeing while tackling climate change and broader sustainability issues
- Support organisations to plan and make prudent capital investments while increasing efficiencies
Trusts submitted their Green Plans in January 2022 and Integrated Care Systems in March 2022.
Overview of green plan sections and CSH resources
Free e-learning Modules for Workforce Training
CSH has partnered with the NHS and elearning for healthcare to create free e-learning modules for all staff groups. Each module takes approximately 30 minutes to complete and includes downloadable certificates. The modules can be accessed here(link is external).
There are 3 sessions in the Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare programme, all presented through key concepts and case studies. Sessions 1 and 2 are suitable for all in the NHS healthcare workforce.
Building a net zero NHS
An introduction to environmentally sustainable healthcare. This short course raises awareness about the demands and opportunities of a sustainable healthcare system. It presents a short animated film about a healthcare worker discovering the existing work on preventing climate change in the health system. interactive activities on key information and case studies of successful projects.
By the end of the session, learners will be able to:
- Describe how the climate emergency affects health
- Explain the relevance of the NHS Net Zero plan to their work
- Identify case studies that reduce waste and pollution
Environmental sustainability in quality improvement
Integrating environmental, social and financial considerations into quality improvement.
By the end of the session learners will be able to:
- recognise sustainability as a domain of quality
- describe how sustainability adds value to each step of a QI process
- identify the steps for embedding sustainability into quality improvement
- identify appropriate resources for undertaking a sustainable QI project
Environmental Sustainability in Dentistry
Prepares dental care professionals and support staff in primary and secondary care to implement changes in practice that reduce cost and pollution while improving dental health.
By the end of the session learners will be able to:
- Describe the contribution of dentistry to environmental degradation
- Explain the relevance of the NHS Net Zero plan to your work
- Improve carbon literacy and identify carbon ‘hotspots’
- Identify case studies to reduce waste and pollution in your practice
Each session can be completed in approximately 30 minutes. Certificates are available to download on completion of the sessions.
CSH courses
Our education team at CSH offers a wide range of professional training and educational courses to equip healthcare teams with the knowledge, confidence and practical tools to embed sustainable approaches in their practice; including making changes at an individual or team level, introducing sustainability to quality improvement processes, undertaking carbon footprint calculations, and take a leadership role on meeting Net Zero targets.
Net Zero Leadership Training for Boards
This interactive workshop empowers board-level staff with the knowledge and skills to drive sustainable transformation across their organisation. It focuses on their role in the NHS Net Zero Plan, the unique challenges of sustainability leadership, and strategies to inspire, lead, and measure change. Tailored to local needs, this session equips leaders to meet the expectations for achieving Net Zero.
Green Team Competition
This award-winning leadership and engagement programme mentors six teams from a Trust to identify carbon hotspots in their service and then develop, implement and evaluate a sustainable quality improvement project. A cash prize is awarded to the team whose project has the biggest positive impact or potential to do so and the highest quality projects are recommended for spread throughout the organisation.
Benefits include:
- Training clinical staff in the skills required to run sustainable quality improvement projects and to teach others
- Engaging senior leadership in sustainable healthcare through inviting them to judge projects
- Forging good working relationships between all those required to deliver sustainable healthcare, especially helping sustainability managers work with clinicians and quality improvement teams – a real morale booster
For more information visit the Green Team Competition webpage, or email the Green Team Programme Manager, Rachel McLean at rachel.mclean@sustainablehealthcare.org.uk(link sends e-mail)
Sustainability in quality improvement
The recent net zero targets for the NHS acknowledge that significant change needs to occur to make healthcare more sustainable. But how? The mechanism for change in the NHS is quality improvement (QI). Integrating sustainability into your QI framework will help to ensure that sustainability is included in every QI and transformation project carried out in your organisation. This will help to embed sustainability into operations and governance, create sustainable improvements and change culture.
The SusQI framework is an innovative approach to holistically improve healthcare by assessing quality through environmental, social and financial impacts – these three factors combine to form the ‘triple bottom line’. By applying CSH’s four principles of sustainable healthcare, health professionals can respond to both environmental challenges and social inequalities, while also saving money.
We have a range of SusQI support options for healthcare organisations, including:
- SusQI Academy
- SusQI Beacon Site Recognition
- Green Ward Competition
- 3-part SusQI course (block booking discounts are available)
- Project resources(link is external)
To see examples of how the framework has been used in different organisations to achieve sustainable transformation; visit our Green Ward Competition and Green Surgery Challenge pages. Contact our programme lead, Catherine Richards(link sends e-mail), if you would like to discuss integrating sustainability into quality improvement in your organisation.
6. Sustainability Fellows and Scholars
CSH partners with NHS and medical specialties to train clinicians to move Green Plans forward strategically through full-time fellow and part-time scholar roles. Fellows and scholars are mentored by CSH experts and supported by in-house resources including training courses, web-based networking tools, online case libraries, and the sustainability in quality improvement (SusQI) toolkit.
A CSH sustainability fellow is seconded or employed to work half- to full-time on sustainable healthcare for 1-3 years. Fellowships often include a research element supported by a university partner; they may focus on a clinical specialty or on a cross-cutting theme such as education, quality improvement or a specific topic (e.g. single-use plastics). A CSH Sustainability Scholar is allocated 1-2 days per week to work on a Green Plan related project over the course of a year and is based in a host organisation – often an NHS Trust.
Carbon footprinting and TBL services
Identifying your carbon hotspot puts you in the best place to set your Green Plan priorities and to develop decarbonisation initiatives with the highest impact.
A carbon footprint is a measure of the direct and indirect greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions produced by an individual, organisation, product, or service.
Carbon footprinting can be used to evaluate baseline emissions, monitor progress, identify carbon hotspots and compare products/services, putting you in best place to develop decarbonisation initiatives with the highest impact and set your Green Plan priorities.
A triple bottom line analysis is more comprehensive than a carbon footprint analysis as it looks at the social and financial impact and their causes in addition to the environmental impact.
Our work
CSH supports healthcare organisations (NHS Trust’s, ICS’s, etc.), health professionals, businesses and researchers globally to accelerate their journeys to Net Zero. We offer a variety of free carbon footprinting tools and resources as well as a short course, Carbon footprinting for Healthcare. In-house experts can help estimate and analyse your carbon footprint at organisational, departmental or clinical pathway level as well as looking at individual products.
The NHS Forest
Your site can be literally greener – drawing holistically on the therapeutic potential of nature. NHS guidance tasks NHS trusts to prioritise interventions which simultaneously improve patient care and community wellbeing while tackling climate change and broader sustainability issues. Green space initiatives can do this.
The NHS Forest is a national alliance of over 200 UK health sites working to transform their green space and to realise its potential for health, wellbeing and biodiversity. This can mean beautiful gardens for rest and recovery; woodland, orchards and meadows that help to lock up carbon and growing space for fruit and vegetables to supply hospital kitchens. This good practice network captures learning from the best NHS green space initiatives – both at health sites and in the community – and works with individual health facilities on innovative projects.
We run an annual conference and awards scheme and provide help and guidance on all aspects of the use of green space in healthcare, from advice on tree planting to research evidence. Each year in the tree planting season we give away trees to NHS sites that can help plant the NHS Forest.
Peer networks
Our specialty networks are set up around communities of practice, the evidence-based way to support change happening and spreading. All staff can join free and start straight away by asking questions and contributing ideas. With over 3,000 people now on 25 networks, clinical and non-clinical staff can facilitate resource sharing, discussion and peer support. Join a network here(link is external).
Reviewing and developing NHS trust green plans
CSH can provide guidance for the development, revision and implementation of your organisation’s Green Plan. We will help you create a vision, approach and initiatives to reduce your carbon emissions while improving patient care. Your plan will address your local priorities while following the national trajectory to net zero by 2045.