Sustainability in your trust
Your Trust or Health Board may already have a Sustainability Officer and possibly even an environmental policy – it is very worthwhile finding out as this will tell you what has been done already.
Working with your Trust can have a big impact, so we have produced some guidance and resources to help:
A Green Plan, previously known as a Sustainable Development Management Plan (SDMP), is a board-approved document outlining the organisation’s aims, objectives, plans and priorities for improving their local and global environmental and socio-economic impacts. It aims to help NHS trusts to drive improvements in the best interests of the public’s health, and ensure services remain fit for purpose today and for the future.
Estates and facilities have led the way with NHS organisations using more renewable energy and having far greater scrutiny on sustainable procurement. But we know that the majority of the carbon footprint of health care is not due to energy or travel but clinically related
The Green Plan sets out a vision, action plan and ways to report and track progress of how NHS trusts work towards meeting their carbon reduction targets. These include a number of areas such as capital projects, asset management and utilities, human resources, travel and logistics.
Many Trusts are at this moment writing their Green Plans because these are now a requirement. You will probably find that the offer of clinical input to the Green Plan is welcomed.
There are also a number of areas where clinician input is particularly important. These include:
- sustainable care models such as a recovery orientated approach, integrating physical and mental health care and linking up with local community services to provide more holistic social support
- green spaces and biodiversity such as green walking projects, growing food and planting to increase biodiversity in hospitals
- sustainable use of resources such as choosing wisely when prescribing, electronic referral forms and reducing the amount of clinical waste.
Helping to develop and implement a Green Plan will help your organisation to improve the health of the local community and the health of the planet.
In order for the Green Plan to achieve its full impact there needs to be buy-in across the trust. As a clinician you could have a key role in this through shaping how your trust implements and oversees this process.
One of the ways to do this would be to ensure that your trust sets up a Sustainability Executive Committee that has key members across the trust that could oversee the implementation and reporting of the Green Plan.
How your Sustainability Executive Committee structures will look will depend on how your trust usually runs. We have included some general guidance based on our experience. In general, a successful sustainability forum will involve the following:
- meeting at least twice a year
- leadership and overall oversight from an executive trust board member
- someone who is in charge of the overall logistics and reporting, usually the Sustainability Officer
- prescribing clear roles and responsibilities for forum members
- including representative across Estates, Transport, Procurement, Human Resources, Service Users, Quality Improvement and Clinical (nursing, psychology, medical, occupational therapy)
- engageing and empowering all staff to get involved and create change.
The Green Plan Sustainability Executive Committee could have an impact in the following ways:
- working across the trust to reduce unnecessary travel, waste and energy use
- connecting with local care resources to better support people in the community
- improving staff wellbeing and therefore job satisfaction, retention and reduce burn out rates through improving hospital environments, the quality and sustainability of hospital food, or investing in learning opportunities.
| Attendee | Role and responsibilities | Contribution to Green Plan | Green Plan Module |
|---|---|---|---|
| Executive Director | Chair and key influencer | Reviewer | Corporate Approach |
| Non-executive Director | Vice-Chair and key influencer | Reviewer | Corporate Approach |
| Sustainability Director/Officer | Operational lead | Main author of Green Plan report | Carbon/GHGs, however would have overall responsibility for all the modules |
| Estates and Facilities Officer | Green spaces, travel and energy use | Reporting on reductions in emissions from buildings and travel and improving active travel options | Asset Management and Utilities, Travel and Logistics, Adaptation, Capital Projects |
| Procurement Officer | Sustainable procurement | Reporting on lines of procurement and reducing cf. associated. Introduction of recycling schemes for furniture etc | Sustainable use of Resources |
| Human Resources Director |
| Reporting on recruitment, retention and staff wellbeing | Our People |
| Medical Director |
| Reporting on care models, QI projects, staff training and development | Green Space and Biodiversity, Sustainable care models, Our People |
| Nursing Director |
| Reporting on care models, QI projects, staff training and development | Green Space and Biodiversity, Sustainable care models, Our People |
| Allied Health Practitioner Lead (occupational therapy/psychology/health support worker) |
| Reporting on community projects/partnerships | Green Space and Biodiversity, Sustainable care models, Our People |
| Charitable funds – i.e. representative from an associated charity | Funding of sustainable initiatives | ||
| IT | Electronic communications | ||
| Pharmacy Lead | Reducing waste in prescribing | Reporting on prescribing and medicine waste | Sustainable use of Resources |
| Psychiatry Resident Doctor Representative |
| Green Space and Biodiversity, Sustainable care models, Our People |
Other resources
Working with your Trust can have a big impact, so we have produced some resources to help.
- Case study of experience from Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear (CNTW) NHS Foundation Trust
- Summary of the main statutory and regulatory conditions for NHS healthcare organisations (DOC)
- Ideas for a letter to your Chief Executive (DOC)
- Consider a QI project with a focus on sustainability. For some inspiration, why not have a look at some of the fantastic projects that have already taken place across the country?
Explore the links between climate change and mental health
Learn why climate change is a major priority for psychiatrists and how to make your practice more sustainable in Sustainable Mental Healthcare, a three-part course run by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare.
