The plan focuses on improving energy efficiency and renewable energy use, promoting sustainable travel for staff and patients, engaging suppliers to cut environmental impact, reducing waste, and operating as sustainably as possible.

NHS Wales says supplier emissions are a major driver of the rise in total emissions and plans to collaborate with external firms to minimize environmental impact and refresh the decarbonisation effort.

The Green ICU Team operates on a three-part mantra—People, Planet, and Profit—as a framework for delivering high-quality care while pursuing environmental stewardship and prudent healthcare.

Initiatives include recycling patient-use bottles, providing drinking tap water instead of sterile water, and installing LED lighting to cut energy use.

Projects highlighted include the Their Gloves Off campaign, which aims to save about £15,000 this year and reduce glove consumption by roughly 490,000 in critical care.

Other measures pursue bottle recycling for patient feeds, tap water provision over sterile alternatives, and LED lighting as part of broader waste reduction and energy efficiency efforts.

The article notes ongoing projects and acknowledges progress and challenges in reducing supply chain emissions to meet targets.

Despite in-hospital gains, the overall trend has prompted calls to leverage NHS purchasing power to lower supplier emissions and reduce embedded carbon in single-use items.

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board’s Green ICU Team has cut plastic waste by about 2 tonnes annually, with the Their Gloves Off campaign targeting glove waste and significant cost savings.

Notable initiatives include award-winning Green ICU efforts that have produced a practical guide for reducing ICU carbon footprints and cutting plastic waste, alongside energy savings from LED lighting.

Within University Hospital Wales, ICU projects include reducing plastic waste by two tonnes per year, halving non-sterile glove use, recycling water bottles, and installing LED lighting to save energy.

The plan targets a 16% reduction by 2025 from the 2018-19 baseline, with non-supply chain reductions already at 23% but supply chain reductions lagging behind, showing a 44% increase since baseline.

NHS Wales reduced non-supply chain emissions (buildings and transport) by nearly 25% from 2018-19 to 2024, while total emissions rose due to supply chain emissions.

In 2024, 77% of total emissions came from the NHS supply chain, with 15% from buildings and 6% from transport; waste and medical gases accounted for the remainder.

Supply chain emissions rose 44% over the period, while non-supply chain emissions declined by 23%.

Health Secretary and Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care Jeremy Miles underscores the goal of a healthier population with a lower carbon footprint, tying waste reduction, energy saving, and sustainable operations to high-quality care.

Leadership emphasizes a collective responsibility to tackle the climate emergency and deliver high-quality care in line with Net Zero by 2050.

NHS Wales has refreshed its Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan for 2025-2030 to accelerate emissions reductions and align with the 2050 Net Zero target, laying out a clear sustainability roadmap for NHS Wales.