Greener Prescribing


The NHS is responsible for around 4-5% of the United Kingdom’s carbon footprint.

Medicines account for around 24% of that, and around a third of the carbon footprint of Primary Care

Embedding lower-carbon practices in healthcare is imperative to counteract the effect that climate change is having on our population (WHO, October 2023)
.  This page is dedicated to support greener prescribing choices, as well as providing resources for sustainable practices to support the NHS Green plan.
Our aim is to become NetZero by 2040 for emissions we control directly, and 2045 for emissions we can influence.

 

The Centre for Sustainable Healthcare has developed these five principles, which are designed to support healthcare professionals
   

 

The following list of resources supports those principles:
  1. Prevention:
  2. Patient Self Care:
  3. Lean Service Delivery:
  4. Low carbon alternatives:
  5. Sustainable operational resource use:
Further Resources:
BLMK ICB Sites:
Sustainability in Primary Care – BLMK ICB
Principles of Sustainability
The UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs – Sustainable Development lists goals for sustainable development.  Goal 3 is “Ensure healthy lives and promote wellbeing for all at all ages”: THE 17 GOALS | Sustainable Development

Greener Practice – Greener Practice – UK’s primary care sustainability network
Home | Sustainable Healthcare Networks Hub to help build a sustainable healthcare community, learn, and collaborate with others and positively fight the climate crisis.
What is SusQI? | Centre for Sustainable Quality Improvement “We at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare believe that by integrating sustainability into quality improvement, social and environmental challenges in healthcare can be addressed as a core part of professional practice, using a recognised method for change.”

Pharmacy Declares Climate conscious pharmacy professionals based in the United Kingdom.
Greener Pharmacy – RPS Greener Pharmacy Guides and Toolkit
Learning
Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare – elearning for healthcare Building a Net Zero NHS and SusQI courses
Sustainable Healthcare Learning run by CSH
KidzMed – elearning for healthcare
Net Zero and Social Value training for Procurement staff
How to be more green – tips and tricks for everyday life:
100 Easy Eco-Friendly Ways to Save Money in 2025 – Green Tulip
7 lazy ways to be environmentally friendly | Friends of the Earth

To top