By Minna Eii, RPS Greener Pharmacy Project Consultant
Pharmacy has recognised that the climate crisis is a health crisis. We’ve heard your calls for guidance on what you can do personally and professionally to promote environmental sustainability. In response, we’ve drafted the RPS Greener Pharmacy Guide and a self-accreditation toolkit aimed at both hospital and community pharmacies. We now need your help to make it as useful as possible by telling us what you think of it.
Our consultation on the guide is now open, so please contribute your views. Our aim is to create a collaborative and community-owned resource that empowers pharmacy teams to take an active role in environmental sustainability.
Addressing the carbon footprint challenge in healthcare
Contributing around 4% of England’s emissions, the NHS is both a part of the problem and the solution when it comes to climate change. In October 2020 the NHS became the world’s first health system to commit to reaching net zero emissions. This commitment was enshrined in The Health and Care Act 2022 which placed a duty on all NHS organisations to consider climate change in their operations, including pharmacies that provide NHS services, making the NHS the first healthcare system to embed net zero in legislation.
Pharmacies leave a carbon footprint that contributes to global warming and various ecological challenges. This footprint results from activities such as energy consumption, transportation, and waste generation.
Enhancing sustainable pharmacy practices through the RPS Greener Pharmacy Guide
The actions recommended in the RPS Greener Pharmacy Guide offer more than just environmental benefits for patients and staff. They come with a range of co-benefits, including saving time and reducing costs. These actions can improve the health of both pharmacy staff and the wider population and address critical issues like overprescribing and antimicrobial resistance.
Some actions in the guide aim to reduce air pollution and promote better respiratory health, in line with NHS ambitions. This not only helps mitigate health inequalities but also reduces the overall demand for healthcare services.
Many of these actions are already part of the daily routines of pharmacy staff, as part of national contractual frameworks, policies, and strategies for optimising the use of medicines. The toolkit provides a valuable platform to evaluate and benchmark these actions through the lens of sustainability.
By actively participating in the development of the Greener Pharmacy Guide and shaping its content based on your experiences and insights, you can contribute to pioneering work that could serve as a model for healthcare systems around the world.
Please respond to the consultation on the greener pharmacy guide.
Read our policies on sustainability.
Read more RPS news blogs.