Independent healthcare providers celebrate Earth Day

In celebration of Earth Day, at IHPN we have been thinking about the steps our members have been taking in making their businesses more sustainable and environmentally friendly, and how we might all think about Our Power, Our Planet and make better use of renewable energy.

One such piece of work is our network’s pledge to reduce scope 1 and 2 carbon emissions to net zero by 2035, and supply chain emissions to net zero by 2045. This commitment is in line with the wider NHS’s Net Zero ambitions, and since we signed the commitment in 2021 we have worked with our membership to:

• share learning and best practice, with sector partners such as the Association of British Insurers to make it easier for providers to standardise their reporting, and
• take active steps with our members that provide surgical treatments to reduce emissions from  environmentally harmful anaesthetic gases, such as desflurane.

However, we know that we still have a long road ahead of us as a sector. Many providers have made good progress in addressing some of the easier or more widespread challenges, and we’re now looking to work with them to understand the specific challenges providers of different types – whether acute, primary, community, diagnostic or ophthalmologic – are facing.

This February IHPN members met in the City of London to discuss their shared challenges and hear from guest speakers about progressing their organisations towards Net Zero, as well as to work together to share their own achievements and obstacles.

Kindly hosted by our commercial partner Howden, attendees took part in a workshop discussion to help shape our workplan for the year ahead. They also heard from NHS England about the NHS’s sustainability commitments, from Howden and Gemserv about support and guidance their organisations can access, and from employees of InHealth and Nuffield Health about how they were helping to drive efforts on the ground.

We heard from members across a range of sectors about the steps they were taking to move to net zero, as well as the support they felt would be helpful to reach the target. Many attendees shared that they were making good progress in reducing their emissions and becoming more sustainable organisations, while recognising that working with their supply chains continued to require effort.

We were delighted at the energy in the room (green, of course!) – testament to the interest and engagement which the independent sector takes in this area. The insight and intelligence attendees shared has helped to inform our convening of communities of interest based on the challenges and priorities of the different provider archetypes, which will shape our work programme in the year ahead. We look forward to working with them all across the year, and seeing our efforts grow from strength to strength.

Josh Edwards, Head of Policy (Primary, Community and Diagnostic Care), IHPN