Sustainability

Broom Leys Surgery is committed to minimising the environmental impacts of our operational activities. We will conduct all aspects of our business with due regard to the sustainability, the environment and its habitats. We will actively investigate new opportunities to take advantage of environmentally friendly initiatives and developments.

What are we doing to be more sustainable?

Our key areas of focus for sustainability are:

• Embedding Green Impact into our organisational culture
• Improving our energy efficiency
• Implementing our lighting responsibility plan
• Green procurement – ensure that we take into account the Governments Energy Technology lists and whole life product running costs
• Sourcing food and drink responsibly and avoiding use of plastic where possible
• Reducing waste and increasing recycling
• Promoting sustainable transport
• Purchasing sustainably
• Reducing our use of paper
• Reducing prescribing
• Implementing the NUS/RCGP Green Impact Toolkit
• Supporting health and wellbeing

Embedding Green Impact into our organisational culture

• Sustainability is one of our core values
• Green Impact is a standing item on agendas for meetings
• We regularly ask our staff to feedback ideas for improvement
• We work collaboratively with our local community

Improving our energy efficiency

• Storage heaters are turned down where possible
• Equipment is turned off at the end of each day
• Lighting is turned off when not required

Implementing our lighting responsibility plan

• Staff take responsibility for switching lights off when not needed or when leaving a room at the end of a session / day
• Clear labelling on light switches to make it easier to turn areas of lighting off
• Staff responsible for closing building at the end of the day undertake a building sweep to ensure all area lighting is turned off
• Working on a plan to replace all current lights with LED lighting over next 5 years

Procurement

• Several of our team have completed sustainable procurement training
• We ask our suppliers about their environmental policies
• We have reviewed our office supplies and made many swtiches, which include purchasing sustainable pencils and paper
• In the process of changing to eco friendly washing up liquid and use refill bottles to reduce plastic use
• We work with our suppliers to continually improve the sustainability of our supply chains

Sourcing food and drink responsibly

• Commitment to raising awareness of sourcing Fairtrade / local / healthy refreshments when possible
• Raising awareness with our staff and the public about Faitrade, by supporting Fairtrade Fortnight
• Offering plant based oat milk alternatives at events
• Providing tea and coffee for staff which is Fairtrade
• Reducing single use plastic
• Sourcing plastic free tea bags
• Encouraging staff and patients to use our water refill station

Reducing waste and increasing recycling

• Ensuring only confidential waste is collected for shredding
• All other paper recycled
• Clearly labelled bins in clinic rooms for domestic / confidential / sharps / clinical waste
• Recycling plastic bottles
• Recycling of other materials, including cardboard, printer toner cartridges and batteries
• Encouraging patients to consider switching inhaler use to more sustainable version and encouraging recycling of inhalers
• See also reducing use of paper below
• See also reducing prescribing below

Promoting sustainable transport

• Implementing our travel plan, including promoting walking, cycling and car sharing

Reducing our use of paper

• Working towards being a paperless Practice where possible
• Ceasing use of fax machines
• Promoting health education messages to patients via patient information screens in waiting areas, to reduce the use of leaflets
• Setting photocopiers to print double sided by default
• Photocopiers are able to scan and email documents, to reduce printing
• System in place to collect non-confidential documents printed only on one side so this paper can be used as note pads
• System in place to collect and reuse envelopes
• Email signatures include the ‘think before you print’ logo
• Patient communication uses paperless systems where possible
• Registration packs have been reviewed and condensed to reduce paper used
• Online forms being introduced to website and the use of these to increase

Reducing prescribing

• Where possible, the Practice is reducing polypharmacy and over prescribing
• Reducing prescribing of opiates – we are working with patients to review their opiod use and reduce where possible
• Reducing prescribing of over-the-counter medicines
• Where appropriate, switching prescriptions for inhalers to dry powder inhalers

Implementing the NUS/RCGP Green Impact Toolkit

• Whole Practice commitment to achieving the NUS / RCGP Green Impact Award
• Commitment to support the National Green Impact Agenda to reduce carbon emissions in line with the 2030 United Nations Sustainability Development Goals
• Supporting other Practices and providers to implement the Green Impact Award
• Sharing best practice and ideas, for example through the Green Impact for Health Conference in 2020

Supporting Health and Wellbeing

• Promoting workplace health and wellbeing
• Working closely with Active Together to help patients improve their health and wellbeing
• Providing resources on our website to help patients support their health and wellbeing
• Directing patients to further sources of advice and support via our Sign Posting pages on the website
• Promoting a series of health and wellbeing campaigns each year, for example on specific topics such as alcohol use or on seasonal health issues such as the flu vaccination