Sustainability is a serious issue and as such we wish to do our part as a PCN to take care of the environment.
So far, we as a PCN have distributed re-usable water bottles amongst our staff members and provided them with fleeces made from recycled materials, cold water filters and hot water boilers to reduce the need for electricity and heating in our practices. Along with the sustainability section of our website advising patients on what they can do to help, these efforts earned us the Green Impact Bronze award in 2023.
For 2024 we changed to sensor taps, lights and energy efficient bulbs, encouraged methods to reduce wasted paper and resources, brought in recycling bins across our practices, changed the suppliers of our ink toners and drums so that they can be recycled and more efficient with a reduced environmental impact. We also have supported the use of green prescriptions (eg, referrals to Fitter Futures and supporting ARRS roles).
We also promoted menstrual cups as these are reusable reducing the impact of disposal of towels, tampons etc to combat period poverty and to aid sustainability. This was done by putting posters in female visitor toilets. These efforts earned us the green Impact Silver award in 2024.
Going forward, we were proud to earn the Gold Award in 2025. To achieve this, we continued all of our previous efforts in sustainability while also making further advancements to promote sustainability and reduce our environmental impact.
As we moved into 2025, we developed a green sustainability plan that includes initiatives for lighting and equipment, like the provision of recycling bins, which are appropriately labelled and the Use of rechargeable batteries in medical equipment. We conducted a review of our energy usage and identified ways to improve efficiency in our practices. We conducted a review of our energy usage and identified ways to improve efficiency in our practices. We encouraged the use of AccuRx and our practice or PCN websites to share information with patients, reducing the need for printed materials when appropriate.
We have also transitioned to purchasing Fairtrade and non-dairy alternatives for milk, tea bags, coffee, and other items used in our surgeries. Our social prescribers continued their valuable work in the community, promoting programs such as Pets as Therapy, Wellbeing Wednesday, community engagement, and organised walks. Additionally, we provided appropriately labelled recycling bins and started using rechargeable batteries in medical equipment during our surgeries.
We have been engaged with this sustainability program since 2023. During this time, we were pleased to collaborate with 'Greener Practice' for Coventry and Warwickshire, sharing our experiences and learning with other GPs and pharmaceutical partners in the region. We also participated in a teaching session with our registrars led by Greener Practice.
Looking ahead, we aspire to achieve greater heights in sustainability and aim for the Platinum award.
To view our current awards please click on the links below:
To help our efforts progress we are encouraging our clinicians to undertake some or all of the methods below:
- Review inhaler prescribing – Clinicians are being encouraged to review their inhaler prescribing for patients, where it is appropriate to do so. Pressurised metered dose inhalers (such as Salbutamol or Ventolin) account for 70% of inhaler prescribing in the UK, which accounts for 3% of the overall NHS carbon emissions – the single biggest medicinal contributor to the NHS emissions (Asthma UK, 2023). Change of inhalers, where appropriate, can improve Asthma control for our patients through improved inhaler technique, whilst having a positive impact on the environment.
- Encourage patients to recycle their inhalers and blister packs – instructions and recommendations on how to do this can be found in the sustainability section of our website.
- Patients are also being encouraged to utilise the insulin, weight management and hormone injection pen recycling schemes offered by Sanofi and Novo Nordisk.
- Reduce the number of unnecessary letters sent out of practice – this can be done by utilising services such as AccuRx to contact patients. We also encourage clinicians to have patients come into the surgery to collect blood forms rather than wasting the extra paper in envelopes to post them out.
- Ensure that all windows and doors are closed (if possible) when heating is on.
- Ensure double sided printing and copying where appropriate.
- Reduce the number of unnecessary prescriptions through the facilitation of Structured Medication Reviews for some patients.
- Encourage staff to use Ecosia (https://www.ecosia.org/) as their web browser rather than google or other similar browsers. Every four times we use Ecosia they have pledged to plant a tree, helping our environment.
Help us protect the environment and earn the platinum award next.
