Accelerate Greener practice in emergency departments in England

Healthcare is directly responsible for 5% of the UK's carbon emissions. To tackle this, in 2020 the NHS agreed the following targets:

• For direct emissions (the NHS Carbon Footprint) to reach net zero by 2040, with an ambition to reach an 80% reduction by 2028 to 2032. • For the emissions influenced by the NHS e.g. purchased energy (the NHS Carbon Footprint Plus) to be net zero by 2045, with an ambition to reach an 80% reduction by 2036 to 2039.

In a fast-paced and demanding environment with a very high patient flow, it is critical that all staff working in the Emergency Department have access to clear and simple guidance and support to ensure their department is working towards the NHS net zero target. We anticipate that a framework, with clear evidence-based steps on the actions to be taken to make an emergency department a net zero ED, will be needed to meet this objective. It is likely that tailored support and further resources to help emergency departments adopt this framework will also be needed, along with online reporting tools for emergency departments to be able to review and update progress in an easy manner.