Green Plan 2025-2028

We’ll embed sustainability into our culture through training, Board-level development, and Green Champions across every department. We’ll introduce a sustainability award at our staff celebrations, strengthen internal communications on green progress, and ensure leaders at every level understand their role in delivering net zero.

Our clinicians will lead the redesign of care pathways to cut carbon and improve outcomes. This includes expanding virtual and community-based care, reducing unnecessary hospital interventions, switching to reusable equipment where safe, and minimising single-use PPE. We’ll also appoint a Net Zero Clinical Lead and establish an associated working group across all clinical service units.

Digital innovation will help us reduce waste and streamline services. We’ll expand virtual wards and digital consultations, reduce reliance on paper and printing, and optimise our IT equipment for energy efficiency. We’ll digitise everyday processes like booking and record management, and continue developing virtual platforms that reduce travel for patients and staff.

Medicines are one of the NHS’s largest sources of carbon emissions. We’ve already taken a significant step towards reducing the environmental impact from our theatres, without compromising patient care, by stopping the use of desflurane in anaesthesiology, this potent gas has a global warming potential thousands of times greater than carbon dioxide.

Next, we plan to phase out nitrous oxide systems, target emissions from Entonox, and promote low-carbon inhalers. We’ll switch from intravenous to oral prescribing where safe, improve how medicines are stored and disposed of, and reduce wastage through better stock management and digital prescribing.

We’ll encourage active and sustainable travel by providing more cycle facilities, EV charging points, and improved links with public transport. We’ll develop a Green Travel Plan in line with national strategy, reduce unnecessary fleet journeys, and transition to a zero-emissions vehicle fleet. We’ll also explore partnerships with local authorities and neighbouring Trusts to support low-carbon travel options.

Our estate will be a driver for decarbonisation. We’ll remove fossil fuel heating through heat pumps and district heating, expand renewable generation such as solar, and improve building efficiency through LED lighting, smart meters, and fabric upgrades. We’ll strengthen air quality monitoring, modernise waste segregation and training, and ensure all new buildings meet NHS Net Zero Building Standards.

We’ll align with the NHS Net Zero Supplier Roadmap, ensuring suppliers report emissions and develop carbon reduction plans. We’ll reduce reliance on single-use products, roll out digitised inventory management, and embed sustainability into procurement policies. Training will be provided to staff across procurement and clinical teams so sustainability is considered in every purchasing decision.

We’ll provide healthier and lower-carbon food choices for staff and patients, with digital menu ordering, seasonal and plant-based options, and reduced use of highly processed food. We’ll measure and reduce food waste across the Trust, explore local and circular sourcing (such as reusing cooking oil for biodiesel), and cut single-use plastics from our catering services.

We’ll prepare our hospitals for the growing risks of climate change. This includes flood and heat resilience measures in new buildings, sustainable drainage, and upgraded cooling for IT and clinical spaces. We’ll complete climate risk assessments, train staff to respond to climate events, and develop a Trust-wide Adaptation Plan to ensure services remain safe and resilient.

We’ll enhance and protect our green spaces to benefit both biodiversity and wellbeing. This includes expanding wildflower areas, introducing green roofs and rainwater harvesting where possible, and extending initiatives like “No Mow May.” We’ll improve existing hospital gardens, develop new patient and staff spaces, and ensure green and biophilic design principles are built into future developments.