10 Point Green Plan for GP Practices - updated

Updated 10 February 2023.

This is an updated resource which may be of interest to colleagues working in or with primary care, original version published February 2022.

Please note that the updated version was created prior to the removal of inhaler indicators in IIF and so this will need to be updated accordingly against updated national and local guidance.

The 10 Point Green Plan for Practices (Cheshire & Merseyside) has been dveloped and updated for 2023 by the Cheshire Greener Primary Care Group and Cheshire & Merseyside Greener Practice Network, comprised of Integrated Care Board and Primary Care colleagues, for those working in and with Primary Care to help guide practices to reduce their environmental impact in line with the NHS' net zero ambitions, around 10 high-impact areas:

1. Declare a practice climate and nature crisis
2. Optimise inhalers
3. Calculate the practice's carbon footprint
4. Monitor and reduce your practice's energy usage
5. Consider switching your business banking provider to a green bank
6. Environmental prescribing and treatment
7. Engage, educate and empower patients to take individual action on the climate crisis for the benefit of their health
8. Promote active transport for both staff and patients
9. Embed the '3 Rs' into practice culture
10. Use the Green Impact for Health toolkit

Actions can be delivered in any order, we encourage customisation to best suit individual practice or Primary Care Network needs.

Whilst the idea of reducing your environmental impact may seem daunting, every positive change made, however small, will bring benefits to us, our practices, our patients and our planet - both now and for generations to come.

Please feel free to share and use this resource as you see fit.