On this page
Aims & Values
As a network we share common aims and values and ask all groups to agree and adhere to these.
Aims
- To enable primary care to take actions towards environmentally sustainable practice.
- To provide a useful hub of information and resources.
- To support the development of local groups and learning between the groups.
- To be a national voice for primary care on effective actions towards enabling the transition to environmentally sustainable general practice.
- To collaborate with other organisations engaged with our aims.
Values
- We aim to enthuse and engage our primary care community in action towards environmentally sustainable healthcare.
- We create inclusive, supportive, respectful, honest, collaborative and creative environments to support our aims.
- We welcome a diversity of thoughts and opinions in helping us develop as a community and to achieve our aims. We recognise that this is best achieved through a compassionate, respectful and non-judgemental approach to communication with each other and the wider primary care community.
- We support each other to develop our leadership abilities.
- We promote climate health equity in our work.
To support our values we have adopted the Thinking Environment (Nancy Kline) approach to running our meetings. Resources from a workshop we had for the group leaders on using this approach are here. We are very grateful to Sophie Stephenson from the Thinking Project for running this session for us.
Our story
- Greener Practice started in South Yorkshire in 2017 as a result of asking the question “How do we support our professional community to take action on the climate crisis?” In 2019 we took our idea to the Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP) national conference and encouraged people to join our network, in the hope of setting up similar local groups around the country.
- We discovered a wealth of activity and enthusiasm already happening across the country. We pulled together the energy and passion to create Greener Practice National Leads group. We now have around 30 groups across the country who meet online or in person. Our enthusiastic WhatsApp groups share ideas and best practice on the Special Interest Groups – see here to join the conversation.
- In 2021 we became a Community Interest Company (CIC) to support our mission, grow as a network and enable formal collaboration with a wide range of organisations.
Collaboration and creation
Through Greener Practice’s formation we brought together the energy of many groups who were starting to take action. Bristol, London, Glasgow, Cornwall, Wessex, Somerset and Wales all had people working in primary care taking action on the climate. Fellowships & scholarships were set up in London to help support leadership in climate action. Greener Practice created connection, and could not have started or grown without the support of many like minded primary care professionals and groups who helped make it flourish!
Our impact
- Greener Practice members wrote the climate emergency motion that was successfully passed by the RCGP National Council on the 20th September 2019.
- To increase the reach of learning on practical action we have run a series of webinars attended by 1000s of people. Please look at our events and webinars page for more details.
- Greener Practice members have supported and led on the creation of the RCGP’s faculty sustainability network and the sustainability leadership team. This work has informed updates to the RCGP’s curriculum which incorporated Planetary health into the curriculum.
- Members of the Greener Practice network have contributed to various programmes, podcasts and articles including Radio 4’s Inside Health, Four Thought, the BMJ, Practice Nurse and GP online.
- Many Greener Practice network members were involved in writing the book Environmentally Sustainable Primary Care, which was co-edited by active Greener Practice members. The book is an introduction to the sustainability challenges associated with good health care delivery with easy-to-implement yet impactful actions that can be taken across dentistry, General Practice, optometry, and pharmacy.
- We have been highly commended in the General Practice Awards 2024 for our work on the High Quality Low Carbon Asthma toolkit.
- Greener Practice network members have developed training for GP registrars’ blended learning, medical students (e.g. University of Sheffield, University of Sunderland) and the RCGP’s Net Zero Hub.
- We have helped develop a number of Green Plans, including South East London ICB. Dr Emma Radcliffe and Grace Marshall also brought together an ICB leads summary to benchmark the work being done by ICBs, this is available in our resource library.
- Greener Practice has been successful in a number of awards over the last 4 years, including from the Health Innovation Network and The Health Foundation. In 2024, we won the SBRI Healthcare – Competition 24 – Delivering a Net Zero NHS for a Healthier Future in the Clinical Engagement category. Our goal was to equip busy health professionals in General Practice with “off-the-shelf” quality improvement (QI) projects and resources to support wider uptake of sustainability action in primary care. This grant led to the development of the project and resource library on this website.
Collaboration
Greener Practice is part of the UK Health Alliance for Climate Change and the Planetary Health Alliance. We have worked with the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare in developing resources such as their Sustainable Primary Care course, primary care Green Plans and articles. We have worked with the RCGP on their GP curriculum and their Net Zero Hub, supported Health Education England with their GP Training programmes and contributed to the Green Impact for Health Toolkit. We have partnered with Marches Energy Agency, a specialised energy charity, to help practices reduce energy and save money whilst the proceeds benefit vulnerable communities affected by fuel poverty. We have also worked with regulatory organisations e.g. General Medical Council(GMC), Care Quality Commission (CQC), British Medical Association(BMA). We also work with a number of Local Medical Committees (LMCs), Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) and the Medical Schools Council (MSC). If you are interested in working with us please email contact@greenerpractice.com.
Consultancy
We offer consultancy services including talks on sustainable primary care, developing educational resources, advising primary care teams, developing primary care green plans and supporting policy and research. If you are interested in any of the services we offer please email us at contact@greenerpractice.com.
Our team
Greener Practice could not function without our incredible network.
Greener Practice CIC is overseen by a groups of directors and non-executive directors who ensure the smooth running of the CIC.
We also have a dedicated core group of paid and voluntary staff without whom the company and its network could not function and to whom we are hugely indebted.