We are hugely proud to announce that the practice has achieved the Green Impact Silver Award in 2023. This means that we are collectively making a change to greener working for a better future for our planet and actively taking steps to reduce our carbon footprint.
The climate emergency is also a health emergency, and healthcare in the UK contributes 5.4% of the UK’s carbon emissions. We need to enhance the health of our current population without compromising the health of future generations, and this operating within the sustainable boundaries of the planet. Fortunately, most of the solutions for the planet also make our health better – for example eating a mainly plant-based diet, engaging in active travel and exercise in nature, avoiding smoking, reducing pollution etc all enhance our health and reduce our need for medications, with further benefits to the NHS, your health and the carbon footprint of healthcare.
Around the practice we are making changes to greener energy choices, conserving water, promoting wellbeing, supporting buying Fairtrade coffee and tea and installing solar panels. There are lots you can do to help us in our drive to become greener:
- If you have inhalers, we may be asking you to switch over to a greener inhaler. For every inhaler you change you would be stopping the emission of damaging greenhouse gases equivalent to a car journey from Gloucester to Sheffield.
- You can try to request medication only when needed so we can reduce medicine wastage.
- For those who can, make a green choice of transport to our surgeries. What is good for the planet is also good for our health.
Did you know the NHS is aiming to become the first net zero health service in the world? If we all work together, we can be a part of this change. Here’s to a greener future.