Green Nursing Challenge applicant information

Join us in the Green Nursing Challenge to champion sustainability and drive positive change in nursing care.

The NHS has committed to achieving NetZero emissions by 2040, extending to suppliers by 2045. Nurses, the largest and most trusted profession within healthcare, 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.

Who can apply?

Applicants must be employed within the UK.

Applications and participation in the programme is free. (Please note no financial support is available through the Challenge).

All healthcare professionals working in nursing care in the UK are welcome to apply. This includes (but not limited to):

All Hospital and Community-based nurses including those working in:

• Community Services
• General Practice
• Secondary Care
• Learning Disabilities
• Care of the Elderly
• Mental Health
• Paediatrics
• Hospices
• Practice-based Facilitation
• Infection & Prevention Control

If you are a junior member of staff (e.g. a student nurse. healthcare support worker, or assistant practitioner) it is highly recommended you apply with a senior colleague/qualified staff member as joint project leads.

Important information

Details and contact information for two project leads are required to apply. These leads should be capable of engaging others and putting together a project team. There is no maximum limit to team size.

Team members do not need to be all nurses or part of the same clinical team, department, or professional group, however they should have an area of work in common (e.g., changing prescribing practices in collaboration with pharmacists).

Key Dates:

● Launch and application period opens: 28th January 2025
● Application period closes: 21st march at 5pm
● Successful teams will be contacted by: 7th April
● Workshops & start of project period: 28th April – 15th May 2025
● Deadline for project write ups and data to be submitted: 15th – 29th August 2025
● Showcase event: 20th October 2025 09:30-12:30

The judging panel

• Lucy Brown (CSH), Clinical Delivery Lead, The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare
• Joanne Bosanquet, Chief Executive, Foundation of Nursing Studies
• Dr Amanda Young, Director of Nursing Programmes (Innovation and Policy), Queens Nursing Institute)

How teams are selected

The shortlisting panel will include team members from CSH and partners. We are looking for teams that are well supported, have sufficient capacity to complete a project and are open to mentoring and learning more about sustainable nursing care.

3 teams from community / primary care and 3 teams from secondary care will be selected.

The panel will also consider that the recruited teams represent a range of sub-specialties and geographical locations, with a variety of project ideas likely to
address varied targets and principles of sustainable clinical practice.

Projects will be considered based on their potential carbon, social and health impacts and where possible, will align with existing national priorities around quality and equity.

Applications will be reviewed and scored in the following areas:

• Why you would like to participate
• Problem identification and relevance of the problem to your local service users and the principles
  of sustainable healthcare (see below).
• Proposed solutions and feasibility
• Organisational commitment and support
• Overall application

How it works

6 selected teams will have the opportunity to receive training and mentoring from the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare (CSH) to develop, plan, run and measure the impact of a sustainable quality improvement (SusQI) project that will add sustainable value to their service. Sustainable value means considering potential outcomes across social, financial, environmental and clinical domains.

Teams will be encouraged to tackle problems that align with the principles of sustainable clinical practice. Mentoring will include education and guidance from the CSH environmental analyst team to carbon footprint the environmental outcomes of the project.

Following the project phase, teams will submit their work as a case study so that it can be shared and spread as an example for other teams and organisations. At an online showcase event all teams will present their projects to a judging panel and appreciative audience.

What will successful teams do? (Team commitments)

As a team, you will be expected to:

Workshop week:

Participate in a 90-minute virtual workshop covering sustainable healthcare, SusQI methodology and
mentoring to further develop your project.

Project phase: (16 weeks)

• Meet with CSH (virtually) based on your availability and project requirements (average of 1x 45 minute meeting every 3 weeks)
• Project work (e.g., setting aims, planning and implementing changes, identifying measures, data collection, calculating impact of your changes – including carbon footprinting with CSH support).
• Complete a SusQI Project report covering the approach, context, results, impact and learning using a standardised template. Guidance and support will be provided. Once submitted your report will be reviewed and data checked by the CSH team. You will have an opportunity to respond to feedback before the report is shared).
• Share data for verification, team photos, and any materials that are produced, e.g. information for families, leaflets/posters.

Showcase and Awards event:

The showcase event will be held virtually (via Teams). The event will be open to anyone with an interest in
sustainability within nursing and healthcare. This may include Health care professionals, NHS managers,
service users and the public.

• Before the event:
  ▪ Submit your report and data, and prepare a 5-10 minute presentation
• During the event:
  ▪ Present your project to and answer questions from judging panel
  ▪ Listen to fellow team presentations
  ▪ Contribute to breakout room discussions on sustainability in the nursing profession and
  healthcare delivery.
• After the event
  ▪ Share your project in the CSH Sustainable healthcare resource library
  ▪ Continue with the next steps of your project

Invitation to debrief meeting with key stakeholders

Best practice from the projects undertaken will be shared to the wider nursing community by CSH and partners via a range of platforms. We will ask for your input to shape the next stages of our project.

Principles of Clinical Practice

Teams will be encouraged to tackle problems that align with one or more of these principles.

Prevention

Promoting health and preventing disease by tackling the causes of illnesses and inequalities to reduce service demand. Improvement population and patient health subsequently reduces healthcare activity and waste.

Examples: Improved asthma inhaler techniques, introducing / optimising screening programmes for earlier intervention, vaccination uptake, early mobilisation post-surgery, risk assessment to prevent injury or worsening health.

Patient Empowerment and Self-Care

Empowering individuals to take a greater role in managing their own health, wellbeing and healthcare (meaningful discussions and co-production for so them to make choices that are best for them and the planet). This can reduce need for healthcare activity (E.g. appointments) and consumables (e.g. medications).

Examples: Green and/or social prescribing and integration with third sector support, optimising self management or monitoring of chronic conditions (e.g. hypertension), health skill building programmes.

Lean Service Delivery

Streamlining care systems to minimise wasteful activities & duplication and excessive use of consumables.

Examples: Tackling delayed discharge, reducing low value appointments or interventions (e.g. blood tests), providing care closer to home, decreasing travel to appointments, reducing equipment overuse.

Low Carbon Alternatives

Prioritising treatment and technologies with a lower environmental impact
Examples: Switching to re-useable equipment such as cold sticks in place of ethyl chloride spray to assess
epidural effects, reusable feeding bottles for infants, reusable smart insulin pens, etc. Switching metered dose and dry powder inhalers.

Please note

Projects purely based on principle 4 ‘sustainable operational resource use’ (e.g. recycling, water waste, and energy reduction (e.g. turning off lights, computers) will not be accepted. These may form components of larger projects (e.g. in a dialysis focussed project energy and water waste may form a part of a wider project to optimise care for patients).

Principles of Sustainable Healthcare

If you would like to read more about the principles of sustainable healthcare, please read our dedicated principles page.

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 fully and fill in the application form below. We will be in touch with you by 7th April 2025.