Your health and social care sector sustainability plan

Use this sustainability plan if you’re a small or medium-sized business in the health and social care sector and any of the following:

owners
managers
employees

Find out how to achieve net zero emissions in the health and social care sector. You can take actions such as:

* implementing energy-efficient lighting and heating systems
* reducing waste
* switching to renewable energy sources
* encouraging their staff, patients and visitors to adopt sustainable practices
* promoting healthy, plant-based diets

By reducing emissions, you can:

* save on energy costs
* build a positive reputation
* attract new customers and investors
* demonstrate your leadership in promoting healthy, sustainable communities

Understand your business emissions
Get finance and support
Actions you can take right now
Longer term actions
Indirect emissions
Share your progress

Understand your business emissions

1) What causes emissions in the health and social care sector

Direct carbon emissions produced by the health and social care industry:

energy use – electricity and gas for lighting, heating and equipment
general waste – when it is not recycled and ends up at landfill sites
transport – using petrol or diesel vehicles to get to work or deliver services

2) Calculate your emissions

Use a free carbon calculator to work out your business’s carbon footprint. This is measured in tonnes, over a year.

3) Estimate the cost of your emissions

Once you have your carbon footprint, you can calculate how much your emissions are costing you. This will give you an idea of potential savings you can make by taking action.

Get funding and support

1) Get help and advice from the following organisations:

the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition– promotes sustainable practices in healthcare through the collaboration of its members
the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare– offers strategic input and consultancy on sustainable healthcare research
Greener NHS– shares ideas on how to reduce the impact on the environment, save money and reach net zero
UK Health Alliance on Climate Change– brings together health professionals to advocate for responses to climate change

You can also learn how to run your business in a more environmentally friendly way by hiring a sustainability consultant.

2) Get financial support

Find grants, schemes and loan programmes across the UK.

Actions you can take right now

1) Save energy at your workplace

Quick low-cost actions include:

lighting – use LED bulbs for greater efficiency
heating – put your thermostat on a timer and seal your windows for extra insulation
office equipment – try to turn off and unplug devices when they’re not being used

2) Do an energy walk-round

Walk around your buildings to see if energy is being used efficiently.

Prepare a checklist

look at lighting, machinery, heating, refrigeration systems and ventilation
identify wasteful energy use and maintenance issues
check at different times of day and compare day and night time use
monitor over a period of a week for accurate average figures
make sure equipment is checked and cleaned regularly to ensure maximum efficiency

3) Decide if you need an energy strategy

Depending on the size of your business, you might need to implement an energy management strategy. An energy manager will help you:

Measure and monitor energy use.
Target ways to use energy as efficiently as possible.

Find out more from the Carbon Trust.

4) Change your energy tariff

Switch to a green energy tariff with your energy supplier. This will reduce your reliance on energy produced by fossil fuels.

5) Switch to a smart meter

This will allow you to see and control how much energy you use.

Find out more about smart meters.

6) Manage your waste

Recycle waste to prevent it being taken to landfill sites where it takes longer to break down and causes more emissions.

7) Get training in energy efficiency

You can train your team to be aware of energy efficiency in the workplace.

Find a sustainability course.

Longer term actions

1) Make changes to your workplace

You can take a number of long-term measures to improve energy efficiency at your workplace.

Check planning permissions guidelines before you go ahead with any structural changes.

Improve insulation and windows

You can make long-term savings on energy bills by insulating buildings and replacing old windows.

Install renewables

You might also consider installing renewable sources of energy.

For example:

heat pumps for heating and water
solar panels or a wind turbine for electricity

By doing so, you could make significant long-term savings on energy bills.

2) Reduce transport emissions in the health and social care sector

Over 25% of the UK’s carbon emissions are caused by transport. You can take measures to reduce emissions from logistics.

If you have employees you could introduce a cycle-to-work initiative or encourage them to take public transport.

Find out more about switching employee modes of transport.

Electric vehicles

If you use a work vehicle, you can reduce emissions by switching over to an electric vehicle (EV). You would be exempt from congestion charges and parking fees in certain areas.

For easy overnight charging you could install EV chargers at your home or workplace.

Find out more about installing chargepoints.

Indirect emissions

To reduce indirect or ‘supply chain’ emissions you need to consider what happens before and after your business provides a service or makes a product.

1) Choose greener ‘upstream’ suppliers and products

use suppliers that measure and reduce carbon
help your suppliers with carbon reduction projects
buy products that take less energy to make, transport and operate

Discover how to source products and services from green suppliers.

2) Reduce emissions ‘downstream’ of your business

make products that take less energy to make, transport and operate
reduce water consumption and waste disposal needs
make investments in lower carbon financial products
give incentives for lower emission activities in leased assets or franchises

3) Certify your supply chain action

PAS 2060 has historically been used to demonstrate carbon neutrality. However, it is now being phased out and replaced by the international standard ISO 14068‑1: Carbon Neutrality.

ISO 14068‑1 builds on the principles of PAS 2060 and provides a more robust, globally recognised and evolving framework for making credible carbon neutrality claims.

The standard process for achieving carbon neutrality includes these steps:

• Assessment of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions using accurate and verifiable data
• Reduction of emissions through a clear, target-driven carbon management plan
• Transparent documentation, independent verification and public disclosure

Independent verification (for example through the British Standards Institution (BSI) or other accredited bodies) can help demonstrate that your business meets the requirements of recognised carbon neutrality standards.

Businesses should consider aligning with ISO 14068‑1 to meet current best practice and maintaining credibility as standards continue to evolve.

Tracking and sharing your progress will help employees and customers feel confident that you’re reducing carbon and moving towards net zero.

You should share your progress once you’ve done both of the following: