Webinar: Achieving a low carbon, climate resilient NHS
The health of people in the UK is being actively impacted by climate change, and this is only set to worsen over the coming years. The Lancet Countdown shows that Europe is facing the fastest changing climate globally. Healthcare contributes 4-6% of global greenhouse gas emissions, more than the aviation industry.
In response to this, the NHS made the world’s first legally binding commitment to becoming a net zero health system – by 2040 for emissions it controls, and 2045 for emissions it influences. Action has been underway since 2020, but more needs to be done to achieve this goal, requiring transformation at scale to sustainable models of care, with supportive leadership, policy and innovation. At the same time, the NHS must move to protect health and maintain service delivery during heatwaves, floods and storms.
This webinar brought together people from policy, research, clinical and innovation backgrounds to share what we can learn from work building a low carbon, climate resilient NHS.
During this webinar we had:
- Discussed practical solutions for frontline NHS staff which support achieving a low carbon, climate resilient NHS. Our speakers will draw on examples from their own experiences, for example in NHS pharmacy services.
- Explored how environmental sustainability aligns with other NHS priorities, such as financing and improving patient care, and discuss how aligning net zero messaging to these priorities can engage different stakeholders.
- Explored successes and challenges in a range of environmental sustainability programmes, such as capital projects.
- Discussed how data and intelligence can be provided to the system from a national level
- Discussed how aligning ICB and national positions can support action towards environmental sustainability across the system
Speakers
Minna Eii is an Advanced Pharmacist Practitioner at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust who is a member of her Trust’s sustainability team. She is the lead author of the Royal College of Pharmacy’s greener pharmacy toolkit and previously the NHS England Chief Sustainability Officer’ Clinical Fellow. Minna co-founded the grass root environmentally conscious pharmacy group Pharmacy Declares and co-chairs the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists' sustainability working group. She has completed a Masters in Environment and Human Health with University of Exeter and authored several peer reviewed publications relating to sustainable healthcare.
Chris Naylor is a Senior Fellow at The King’s Fund and the Policy Lead at the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare. He leads The King’s Fund’s work on climate change and sustainability and has extensive experience on sustainable health care including as a consultant to the World Health Organization. In previous roles he has worked at the Institute of Psychiatry, King’s College London and the Public Health Foundation of India in Delhi.
Chair
Sarah Hardy is the Senior Strategy and Programme Manager in the Policy team.
Sarah joined the policy team in May 2025, on secondment from her substantive role leading programme development and delivery for the IAU team.
Prior to joining The Health Foundation, Sarah worked for King's College London as Programme Manager for the King's Sierra Leone Partnership in Freetown. Her background is in global health and international development.
Sarah is currently studying part-time for an MSc in Health Policy, Planning and Financing at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and the London School of Economics.
