What are we doing to be more sustainable?
The Village Practice is really proud to me making significant steps to becoming more sustainable. Over the last few years we have worked towards a Gold Green Impact for Health Award and were finalists in the General Practice awards for our green work.
Our key areas of focus for sustainability are:
- Embedding environmental sustainability into our organisational culture
- Improving our energy efficiency
- Implementing our lighting responsibility plan
- Purchasing sustainably and reviewing Green procurement
- Sourcing food and drink responsibly and avoiding use of plastic where possible
- Reducing waste (including increasing recycling and food waste disposal)
- Promoting sustainable transport (such as cycling or walking)
- Reducing our use of paper
- Reducing inappropriate/unnecessary prescribing
- Implementing the NUS/RCGP Green Impact Toolkit
- Supporting health and wellbeing of our staff and patients
Embedding environmental sustainability into our organisation
- Sustainability is one of our core values
- We ask staff to reflect on how they have helped sustainability as part of our appraisals and interview process
- Green Impact is a standing item on agendas for meetings
- We regularly ask our staff to feedback ideas for improvement to become greener
- We work collaboratively with our PCN and Islington Borough to improve our goals of meeting NHS net zero
Improving our energy efficiency
- Radiators are turned down where possible
- Equipment is turned off at the end of each day
- Lighting is on timers but lights can also be turned off when not needed
- Energy – gas and electric – is provided via green energy suppliers
Sourcing food and drink responsibly
- Commitment to sourcing Fairtrade / local / healthy refreshments when possible
- Avoiding food products that do not use sustainable palm oil
- Purchasing glass bottled locally sourced milk
- Offering plant based oat milk alternative for staff
- Providing tea and coffee for staff which is Fairtrade
- Reducing single use plastic
- Sourcing plastic free tea bags
Reducing waste and increasing recycling
- Ensuring only confidential waste is collected for shredding
- All other paper recycled
- Clearly labelled bins in clinic rooms for domestic / recycling / sharps / clinical waste
- Recycling plastic bottles
- Recycling of other materials, including cardboard, printer toner cartridges and batteries
- Encouraging recycling of inhalers at certain pharmacies, e.g. Boots on Seven Sisters Road, or find your nearest recycling point here: Where To Recycle Asthma Inhalers – KnowYourAsthma.com
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 patient information screens in waiting areas, to reduce the use of leaflets
- Setting photocopiers to print double sided by default
- Photocopiers are able to scan and email documents, to reduce printing
- Patient communication uses paperless systems where possible
- Encouraging use of online forms
Reducing prescribing
- Where possible and appropriate, the practice is reducing polypharmacy and over prescribing to improve care for both patients and the planet
- Reducing prescribing of opiate medications – we are working with patients to review their opiate use and reduce where possible to reduce risk of harm and dependence
- Reducing prescribing of over the counter medicines (in line with national NHS measures)
- Where appropriate and with patient discussion, switching prescriptions for inhalers to dry powder inhalers
Implementing the NUS/RCGP Green Impact Toolkit
- Whole Practice commitment to achieving the NUS / RCGP Green Impact Award
- Commitment to support the National Green Impact Agenda to reduce carbon emissions in line with the 2030 United Nations Sustainability Development Goals
- Supporting other Practices and providers to implement the Green Impact Award