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Sustainability

How can we all support a greener NHS?

Did you know the NHS in England has a larger carbon footprint than all the planes taking off from Heathrow? As the NHS works towards becoming the world’s first net zero health service, we all have a part to play.

Whether you're an individual or part of a team, there are practical ways you can make a difference. Explore the ideas and stories below to get inspired by the passionate people in our network who are already taking action.

Why are we passionate about sustainability?

Climate change affects all of us. We care about protecting the planet for our children and grandchildren, for wildlife, for our communities, and for the people we love.

A few of us who care about sustainability started asking ourselves a question. What can we actually do to make a difference? Like many people, we’ve felt that sense of helplessness - knowing the climate crisis is real, but unsure where to start. We don’t have all the answers, but we wanted to show that even small, simple actions can lead to meaningful change.

As we started learning more, we were shocked to discover how much healthcare contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. If healthcare were a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter in the world. That means how we work really matters.

The good news is that many of the things that help the planet also improve our health. Cleaner air. Healthier diets. More active lives. A stronger, more resilient NHS. We’re passionate about this because it matters to all of us. And we believe everyone has a role to play.

2.6 million

people in the UK will be at risk of flooding by 2035

12 million

people’s health will be affected by heatwaves in the UK

5%

of the country’s total greenhouse gas emissions come from the NHS in England

NHS Elect sustainability network

How can you get started?

Read up on sustainability

Start with the basics. A little knowledge can go a long way. By engaging your people, it helps foster new ideas, gain momentum in what you are trying to achieve and pulls people together in the same direction.

At NHS Elect, we ran an internal session at an organisation-wide meeting to share stories, engage with our staff about what sustainability should look like, and find our green champions who wanted to get involved.

Measure stuff

It’s important to set some goals and measure them to keep things on track. Get your senior leaders involved to increase visibility and help champion what you’re up to.

At NHS Elect, we’ve added sustainability to our 2024-26 strategy, and regularly monitor key progress at Senior Leadership Team level.

NHS Elect sustainability competition winners

Find your people

There are others who care just like you do, so the best thing you can do is find them and bring people together.

At NHS Elect, we’ve tried to get everyone involved with sustainability by regularly holding competitions with our staff. We asked our staff to share recipes or make a dish that used seasonable veggies, inventive ways to use up 'soon to be sell by date' ingredients, one pot wonders to reduce cleaning, and best home preserve for prolonging food.

Talk about it

The more we bring sustainability into everyday conversations, the more it becomes part of how we work and live. That's why we wanted to start a series of sustainability webinars to build a fantastic community of people together. Our webinars are a great way to get involved, find out some of the brilliant sustainability initiatives that are happening across the country, and build your knowledge and understanding.

NHS Elect sustainability at work trophy

Just start (and don't give up!)

Getting started is the hard part, but even small steps can make a big difference. One of the initiatives we introduced this year, was a sustainability award to really celebrate our staff's commitment to making our planet greener. We highly recommend giving out an award at your workplace too, as it celebrates success in this area, and is a way to say thank you to everyone doing something towards sustainability.

Get involved

If you want to join our next sustainability webinar, or maybe you have a great idea that you'd like to share, then please leave your details and we'll be in touch.