Sustainability

What are we doing to be more sustainable?

We have a green team who are working to help make our practice more environmentally friendly.

Our key areas of focus for sustainability are:

  • Embedding environmental sustainability into our organisational culture
  • Improving our energy efficiency
  • Reviewing Green procurement
  • Reducing waste
  • Promoting sustainable transport (such as cycling or walking)
  • Reducing our use of paper
  • Prescribing responsibly
  • Implementing the Green Impact for health toolkit : https://toolkit.sos-uk.org/greenimpact/giforhealth/login]
  • Supporting health and wellbeing of our staff

Embedding environmental sustainability into our organisation

Sustainability is part of our mission statement: ‘We aspire to deliver high quality, appropriate and sustainable healthcare at the right time, by the right person’

  • We ask staff to reflect on how they have helped sustainability as part of our appraisals
  • We have meetings which include green changes as part of the agenda regularly ask our staff to feedback ideas for improvement
  • We work collaboratively with our PCN and Islington borough to improve our goals of net zero

Improving our energy efficiency

  • Radiators are turned down where possible 
  • Lights and equipment are turned off at the end of the day

Reducing our use of paper

  • Working towards being a paperless practice where possible
  • Ceasing use of fax machines
  • Promoting health education messages to patients via text and email (to reduce the use of leaflets)
  • Setting photocopiers to print double sided by default
  • Photocopiers are able to scan and email documents
  • Online forms being introduced to website

Reducing waste and increasing recycling

  • Ensuring only confidential waste is collected for shredding and using ‘shred it’ which helps plant trees!
  • All other paper recycled
  • Recycling of other materials, including cardboard, printer toner cartridges and batteries
  • Encouraging patients to consider recycling of inhalers at certain pharmacies in (Boots on Seven Sister’s roads  Where To Recycle Asthma Inhalers – KnowYourAsthma.com)

Reducing prescribing

  • Where possible, the Practice is reducing polypharmacy and over prescribing to improve care for both patients and the planet
  • Reducing prescribing of over the counter medicines 
  • Reviewing high quality low carbon asthma care and reviewing inhalers which are good for our patients and the planet

Implementing the NUS/RCGP Green Impact Toolkit

Commitment to support the National Green Impact Agenda to reduce carbon emissions in line with the 2030 United Nations Sustainability Development Goals 

Whole Practice commitment to achieving the Green Impact for Health Award