The Green Plan

We are aspiring to become one of the greenest trusts in London, if not the UK

a photo of a group of staff by a canal, with litter pickers and green bags of rubbish

The climate emergency is a health emergency. Climate change threatens the foundations of good health, with direct and immediate consequences for our patients, the public and the NHS. As a Trust, we recognise the enormous challenge that the issues of climate change, air pollution, flooding, extreme heat and waste present to West London and the impact that these issues have on our patients, colleagues and communities. The environment is changing and the pace of change is accelerating.

This plan sets out our aims, objectives, principles and targets to achieve environmental improvements now, and for future generations while continuing to provide high-quality care and continuously improving the health and wellbeing of patients and staff.

We know that there is more to do and we are keen to hear from you, so if you would like to share an idea about making West London NHS Trust greener;

Please email: wlt.Sustainability@nhs.net.

In 2023, the Trust formed a sustainability partnership with Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust (CLCH) to focus on the delivery of the NHS net zero plan. The two Trusts deliver healthcare at over 400 sites, spanning 13 local authorities and four integrated care services. By working together through shared learning and best practice, puts us in a stronger position to tackle environmental issues such as carbon footprint, greener transport, leased estates and sustainable models of care.

Each Trust has its own executive Senior Responsible Officer (SRO) and sustainability committee who oversee the progress related to the Green Plan.

The NHS has ambitious net zero targets as follows:

To reach net zero by 2040 for the emissions we control directly (NHS Carbon footprint).
To reach net zero by 2045 for the emissions we can influence (NHS Carbon footprint plus).

The Trust’s carbon footprint plus (all emissions) is estimated to be around 78,884 tonnes CO₂e (tCO₂e) (2019, calculated by NHS England). The Trust’s carbon footprint (direct emissions) for 2023-24 was 7,937 tCO₂e.

A projection of the Trust Pathway to Net Zero has been developed. This proposes a schedule of heat decarbonisation, fleet electrification, and other sustainability measures, based on existing plans and prioritising sites with the largest emissions. This proposal will allow the Trust to achieve its target of a 50 percent emissions reduction by 2030 (relative to 2023) and reduce the Trust carbon footprint to ~1,200 tCO2e by 2040.

Co2 graph.png

Our nine sustainability goals

To coordinate carbon reduction efforts across the NHS at a local level, trusts are required to develop a Green Plan. Our latest Green plan (2022 to 2025) was published in March 2022 and focuses on nine areas. A summary of our approach can be viewed below. We will be refreshing our Green plan for publication in Summer 2025.

We will utilise digital technology and systems to improve our service delivery and use of resources.

The Trust has:

Made a huge investment to support agile working, which reduces carbon emissions from staff travel.
Implemented an electronic prescription service, which reduces the use of paper.
Trialled e-sims in new mobile phones, which lead to a reduction in sim cards.

Buildings, energy and heat

We will reduce carbon emissions from our buildings by improving energy efficient, reducing energy consumption, decarbonising heating and hot water systems and designing sustainable buildings.

The Trust has:

Appointed a retrofit contractor to deliver over £4.5m of work to support the move to low carbon heating at Broadmoor Hospital, St Bernard's Hospital and Lakeside Mental Health unit from 2024 to 2026
Installed solar panels at St Bernard's Hospital
Replaced building management system (BMW) controls and panels at five sites
Improved energy efficiency by installing LED lights and energy efficient air-cooled chillers, replaced windows and renewed insulation of pipework.

Over the next couple of years, our retrofit projects will drive decarbonisation at our largest sites through solar panel installation, heat pumps, LED lighting, and insulation. We are also exploring opportunities across our wider estate to make our buildings more energy efficient.

Waste

We will cut carbon emissions and use fewer natural resources by reducing waste, reusing materials, and recycling as much as possible.

The Trust has:

Improved clinical waste segregation by replacing clinical waste bins with offensive waste. We have exceeded the 2026 target set by NHS England to have 60 percent offensive waste, 20 percent alternative treatment, and 20 percent high temperature incineration.
Increased recyclable and compostable packaging in catering. For example; by switching to recyclable milk cartons at our London sites.
Reduced the number of pages printed by 41 percent between 2022-23 and 2023-24.
Collected crisp packets which were donated to a staff member who used them to make blankets for homeless people.
Introduced a 50p charge for single-use coffee cups in the staff canteen at Broadmoor Hospital, which has led to a reduction of single-use cups by over two thirds.
In 2023, 26 tonnes of food waste were diverted to our bio digester at St Bernard’s Hospital, which produced enough electricity for the national grid to power three average homes in the UK for a year or was used in inorganic fertilisers for crops.

In 2024-25, we will:

Continue to work with staff to reduce waste where possible and segregate waste correctly when unavoidable.
Maintain our excellent clinical waste segregation
Increase food waste separation and introduce individual collections to all our community sites with ten or more staff
Segregate food waste produced in Broadmoor Hospital

We will reduce carbon emissions from the food we serve and ensure the provision of healthier, locally sourced and seasonal menus.

The Trust has:

Achieved a Green Kitchen Standard Award at St Bernard’s Hospital from the Soil Association, recognising our efforts in sustainable energy, water, and waste management practices.
Awarded Bronze Food for Life accreditation at St Bernard’s and now working toward silver.
Recognised as an exemplar trust for catering by NHS England.
Sourced our food locally, offered seasonal menus, and grown food at some of our sites.
Implemented electronic food ordering at all our sites to reduce waste.
Worked closely with service users to make sure the food menu aligns with their cultural, religious, and lifestyle preferences. This has helped to reduce food waste.
Actively engaged with the community through initiatives such as Olio, food banks, and soup kitchens.

We will reduce the carbon emissions related to our prescribing and use of medicines.

The pharmacy team has reduced their packaging by switching to recyclable paper packaging and we are exploring ways to further reduce and recycle pharmaceutical waste.

We will choose suppliers and products that have a lower carbon footprint to help reduce emissions.

The Trust has:

Prohibited the use of non-recycled paper.
Implemented procurement regulation PPN06/20 (social value) with 10% of the value of tenders assigned to social value, which includes environmental sustainability criteria.
Implemented procurement regulation PPN06/21, which requires all suppliers with contracts over £5m to have a carbon reduction plan, was implemented from 1 April 2023.

We will:

Run a gloves off campaign, which encourages staff to only use gloves when necessary.
Implement a walking-aid reuse scheme.
Identify the most frequently bought single use items and find ways to replace them with reusable or sustainable alternatives.

We will embed net zero principles across all clinical services, considering carbon reduction opportunities in the way care is delivered.

We are seeking to identify opportunities across all clinical services to identify how we can deliver lower carbon care. For example, by:

Providing care closer to home
Preventing high-carbon interventions, where appropriate
Implementing lower-carbon interventions where they are clinically equivalent
Reducing unwarranted variations in care delivery and outcomes that result in unnecessary increases in carbon emissions

Green Spaces

We will seek to enhance our green spaces, which will improve health and well-being for staff and service users, while also creating habitats for insects and supporting biodiversity.

The Trust has:

Set up Carers’ Corner at The Dig in Hanwell in collaboration with Ealing carers partnership and West London NHS Charity, offering wellbeing sessions and peer support with access to green spaces and home-grown foods. Visit the Carers’ Corner in Ealing :: West London NHS Trust
Set up Mother Peers Support Group meet once per week, utilising the green space at The Dig in Hanwell. Mothers engage in creative / nature-based activities and explore their own health and wellbeing.
Established dementia friendly gardens at Clayponds
Service users have participated in grow gardens. The 2023/24 harvest included produce such as strawberries, aubergines, rhubarb, cabbage, sweetcorn, herbs, green beans, and tomatoes which have been included in meals served to service users and staff, supporting farm to fork.

We will continue to seek opportunities to improve green spaces around the Trust.

We aim to reduce carbon emissions and improve air quality from our business travel, staff commuting and patient/visitor travel.

The Trust has:

Been accredited as Gold Cycle Friendly Employer by Cycle UK at 5 sites: Broadmoor Hospital, St Bernard’s Hospital, Lakeside Mental Health Unit, and Hammersmith and Fulham Mental Health Unit, as well our Trust headquarters. We are working towards accreditation at all of our sites.
Implemented active travel incentives such as a bike loan scheme and cycle to work scheme. 260 staff members have used the cycle to works scheme since its inception in 2017.
Improved facilities for cyclists, including provision of secure cycle sheds, showers, bike repair stations, and lockers.
Recruited two cycling volunteers to support our active travel programme. The volunteers provide advice for staff on cycling matters, deal with cycling facilities requests, organise cycling events, and issue a monthly newsletter.
Installed EV chargers at Broadmoor and St Bernard’s, and are evaluating feasibility at installing chargers at our other sites.
Invested in electric vehicles for our fleet. As of March 2024, 23% of our fleet was electric.
Restricted our salary sacrifice scheme to ultra-low emission vehicles only. As of May 2024, 70 percent of vehicles on the scheme were ultra-low emission.

We will engage and develop our workforce on delivering our sustainability goals.

The Trust has:

Implemented sustainability objectives into personal development records for all managers
Established a green champions network
Rolled out an introductory e-module, “Environmentally Sustainable Healthcare – Building a Net Zero NHS,” produced by NHS England.

We will continue to grow our green champions network and improve sustainability training offerings to ensure staff are empowered to start their own initiatives and champion best practices in their work areas.

Green Champions Network

Our Green Champions network brings together staff who are passionate about sustainability and want to make a difference in their work areas. Green Champions help drive positive change by identifying opportunities to promote greener practices and improve efficiency.

We support our Green Champions with resources, training, and opportunities to collaborate, ensuring they have the knowledge and confidence to lead sustainability initiatives. As the network grows, we will continue to provide more learning opportunities and encourage staff to share best practices, making sustainability a core part of everyday work.

We will seek to reduce the risk climate change poses, such as severe weather, to our sites and business function.

To achieve this, we will develop an adaptation plan in 2024-25, which will focus on the Trust’s plans to mitigate the risks or effects of climate change and severe weather conditions on our business and functions. For example, the effects of flooding or heatwaves on the organisation’s infrastructure, patients, and staff.

Linking our strategic objectives to sustainability benefits

Strategy objective	Sustainability benefit
Outstanding care	Good health and wellbeing for all
Compassionate workforce	Skilful workforce with good recruitment and retention levels as part of a compassionate, just and inclusive work culture
Quality improvement	Improvement at the heart of everything that we do
Care without boundaries	Reduced inequality and greater partnership working
Involved people	Staff who are enabled and encouraged to make a difference
Financial balance	Using available finance for best investments for long term sustainable benefit
Effective estate	Reducing carbon emissions in our workspaces
Digital future	Working in a more digitally focused way

The Delivering a Net Zero National Health Service report highlights the impacts of climate change. Without immediate action we are likely to see an increase in major diseases, poor mental health, and disruption of care. The report sets out trajectories and actions for the entire NHS to reach net zero.

Meet the Trust’s new Sustainability Team :: West London NHS Trust

NHS sustainability day of action: our green plan progresses :: West London NHS Trust

Sustainability update: greener gardens and food :: West London NHS Trust

Green Champions update: Bhajan Jassell, Ealing Community Partners Podiatry team :: West London NHS Trust

Our Green Plan, one year on :: West London NHS Trust

Trust awarded Gold Cycle Friendly Employer (CFE) accreditation :: West London NHS Trust

Trust and Ealing Council collaborate for Earth day litter pick :: West London NHS Trust