Climate change and biodiversity loss are changing our world. We all need to act now to ensure better health for us and our patients tomorrow.
The NHS is responsible for 4-5% of the UK’s carbon footprint. To have a 50% chance of avoiding the consequences of >1.5°C of warming, our global carbon emissions will have to reach net-zero by 2050.
We’ve started our journey towards a low carbon, sustainable way of living and signed up to the:
Green Impact for health toolkit!
What does this mean for the Practice?
- We’ll be considering different areas in and around the practice and thinking of ways we can make improvements to reduce our impact and improve sustainability. Some of the things we’ll be focusing on are:
- Inhaler recycling
- Active transport solutions
- Energy efficiency
- Social prescribing
- Encouraging Equipment Recycling: Returning equipment no longer needed
- We’ll be encouraging staff and patients to think about how they can bring greener practices into their day to day lives.
- We’ll be keeping you up to date with our progress on the website and around the practice – and we’d love to hear your stories too.
Why are we doing this?
- The key message of the Lancet Countdown report in 2019 summarises why this is important.
“The life of every child born today will be profoundly affected by climate change, with populations around the world increasingly facing extremes of weather, food and water insecurity, changing patterns of infectious disease and a less certain future. Without action, this new era will come to define the health of people at every stage of their lives.”
- As health professionals, we have a responsibility to work in the best interests of all our patients. The climate crisis is the biggest public health issue we are facing and we believe it is essential to make changes in order to work towards a better, healthier future for all.