New plan to make NHS Wales greener
Plans to help NHS Wales reduce its emissions faster in order to make the health and care system more sustainable have been unveiled.
NHS organisations have already made considerable progress, cutting emissions from non-supply chain, including buildings and transport, by almost a quarter between 2018-19 and 2024.
But despite the improvement, overall NHS Wales emissions have increased over the same period, largely as a result of emissions attributed to the health service’s large supply chain.
The refreshed NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan, published during Wales Climate Week (3 – 7 November 2025), sets out a clear roadmap for the NHS to meet its climate ambitions and achieve the legal 2050 Net Zero target.
The plan will help NHS Wales organisations to:
- Increase energy efficiency and use of renewables
- Support more sustainable travel by staff and patients
- Work with suppliers to minimise environmental impact
- Deliver environmental sustainability
- Reduce waste
- Work as sustainably as possible.
Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles said: “We are striving for a more sustainable health system, which will reduce its impact on the environment and provide wider benefits to public health.
“We all have a part to play in addressing the climate emergency. The NHS in Wales can play its part by taking simple steps, such as reducing waste, saving energy and working as sustainably as possible, while focusing on delivering high-quality care.
“Improving the sustainability and environmental impact of NHS Wales will help the public sector and Wales reduce our carbon footprint and achieve our Net Zero commitments by 2050.”
Efforts to reduce carbon emissions in NHS Wales have been boosted by several sustainability projects.
Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s sustainability initiatives are leading the drive in intensive care units – supporting the twin aims of improving patient care while reducing financial and environmental waste.
The Green ICU Team won a Globally Responsible Wales Award in the NHS Welsh Sustainability Awards and its work has been featured in a practical guide designed to help Intensive Care Units (ICUs) reduce their carbon footprint.
Over the past five years, it has reduced plastic waste in the ICU by around 2 tonnes per year, saving tens of thousands of pounds.
Their Gloves Off
The Their Gloves Off campaign aims to reduce the amount of non-sterile gloves worn, is on target to save around £15,000 this year and a plastic saving of around 490,000 gloves (or approximately 30 gloves per patient per day) in critical care.
Other schemes include arranging for the recycling of bottles used to feed patients; offering drinking tap water instead of sterile water to patients and installing LED lighting.
Jack Parry-Jones, a consultant in adult intensive care medicine and the former chair of the Green ICU Team, led a number of the initiatives.
He said: “We are trying to preserve a world – a Wales worth surviving for and living in. Our adopted mantra is people, planet and profit.
“People – excellent care for our patients, their relatives and our staff. Planet – a clean environment in Wales with preserved biodiversity. And profit – providing good value based and prudent healthcare.”
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8 Miles high, where I wandered lonely as a cloud…
Clinical outcomes, somebody please replace this man and his boss…
Needs to focus more on the core purpose of NHS – the clue is in the words Health Service. Crack on with securing immediate and sustained performance improvements in “health” outcomes – like improved response times, fewer bad life-threatening errors, shorter waiting lists. Once that NHS is operating at that higher level of performance then he and his colleagues can get started on the longer term strategic goals by developing leaner, even greener processes.
Like Depts sharing MRI scans…where possible.
Absolutely. It’s complete guff. The reality is a 20% increase in carbon emissions in less than a decade. Yet another Welsh Government “action plan” for the bin.
Shouldn’t reduction in waiting lists be more important than lowering carbon emissions ? .Another case of priorities last . To put things into perspective Wales produces 0.2 million tons annually , while the war in Ukraine has been estimated to have produced 340 million tons since it started.
Many avenues can be worked at the same time.
Green has benefits that can also be worked in.
Yes, it’s not either/or. A bit of investment in renewable energy can save the NHS money to pursue those ‘priorities’ with. Win-win.
The priority for the NHS should be treating patients and reducing waiting lists and if there are efficiency and emission gains in doing so then fine, but that’s not the main goal.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C__nSoFJIso
The biggest gain on carbon emissions is shown in the video where electric busses serve both Glangwili hospital and across Carmarthenshire to Ceredigion. A bit of joined up thinking required. Available after elections next May.
Lectric Bws Porthmadog to Blaenau no cloud of soot, feet up all the way down to the Grapes charged up for the flat bit to Porth. They could electrify the Ffestiniog Railway, let a bit out of Stwlan for every up train and feet up all the way down then they could double the number of trips and clean up the air in Porthmadog on a hot busy summer Saturday…I wonder if the slim controller is listening…
The NHS spends billions on equipment, new buildings and maintaining buildings; plus PPE / consumables / food etc.
A sustainable organisation should be monitoring spend on all these items, manufacturing in Wales is there is a long term demand, having goods moved around Wales by freight trains (not lorries, also reduces government subsidies to rail network).
We need more challenging objectives.
I agree. For example Ask any ambulance crew how much plastic packaging they throw away at the end of a shift.
Yes, the amount of single-use plastics thrown away every day in hospitals is unbelievable (speaking as a former nurse).
So here’s Jeremy Miles with some more Welsh Labour wishful thinking. Just the other day we read how the Welsh NHS carbon emissions had gone up 20% in the last 6 years. Sorry Jeremy, waving your hands doesn’t make it happen. Try doing something.