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Established in 2017 as a network of GPs committed to action on the climate and nature crisis, Greener Practice became a Community Interest Company in 2021, enabling it to expand and collaborate formally with a wide range of organisations. In summer 2025, funded via an NHS England Small Business Research Initiative (SBRI) grant, Greener Practice launched a new online platform. This gives members access, for a modest fee, to NetworkPLUS, comprising a wealth of quality improvement projects (QIPs), supported by a rich library of resources.

QIPs are step-by-step, evidence-based plans which provide the tools GP practices need to make changes that improve patient health, save NHS resources, save time, improve staff morale and simultaneously reduce carbon emissions. Each QIP is designed to be as easy as possible and helps GPs align with the Care Quality Commission’s sustainability and safety requirements. There are currently more than 50 QIPs available, with more under development, and include:

- high quality, low carbon asthma projects to improve asthma care

- reducing unwanted or unnecessary medication prescribing

- improving chronic pain management

- creating a GP practice garden

- setting up a walking group for patients or staff

- helping patients keep warm, for vulnerable patients at risk from cold homes, and plans for extreme heat, which also affects the most vulnerable.

There are currently 25 Greener Practice Groups working in localities across the UK. Over the past 8 months, Greener Practice has seen membership increase threefold, with different levels of membership on offer. For individuals, entry-level membership is free of charge, including regular webinars on a range of topics, newsletters and peer support, while access to NetworkPLUS costs £30 per year. GP practices and other organisations can, for a single annual fee according to practice list size, choose membership that allows multiple staff access at a discounted rate (£20 per user) to the NetworkPLUS platform, with the full range of resources.

Among Greener Practice’s achievements to date are:

- appointment in April 2026 to oversee the running of the RCGP-funded Green Impact for Health Toolkit, a sustainability learning and awards programme currently used by around 2,000 practices nationally;

- development of an award-winning High Quality Low Carbon Asthma Toolkit, recommended in asthma NICE guidelines, and now widely adopted in primary care;

- since 2021, facilitating ‘sustainable healthcare’ general practice placements for medical students at the University of Sheffield Medical School and, since 2024, endorsing a nature-based placement at Sunderland Medical School;

- in 2025 the University of Exeter medical school bought access to NetworkPLUS for its 270 final year medical students to use QIPs in GP placements;

- Greener Practice, Cornwall Group partnered with Cornwall energy charity Community Energy Plus to subsidise and deliver energy audits of 24 GP

practices. This saved on average £4,000 per practice annually, with one saving £22,000. Savings were redirected into patient care. This project is now being replicated in the Midlands in partnership with energy charity, Marches Energy Advice, bringing benefits to patients, practices and planet;

- Greener Practice, Cheshire & Merseyside Group oversaw pilot projects at 10 GP practices across their regional Integrated Care Board (ICB). These delivered multiple benefits for patients, staff, budgets and the planet. One project, ‘Embedding Green Impact into the Culture’, received a Commendation at the RCGP General Practice Awards 2025. The ICB programme drew on preliminary work on Greener Practice’s QIPs and toolkits, which were still in development, and was inspired and guided by Gloucester Greener Practice, who pioneered ICB-level projects towards the transformation to sustainable primary care.

Dr Honey Smith, Greener Practice Director, says, ‘Greener Practice brings primary care professionals together to share learning and change the way we do things, ensuring that our care of patients aligns with the health of the planet, to achieve multiple co-benefits. Patient health ultimately depends on the health of the planet, and the climate emergency is a health emergency. We must move away from ways of working in primary care that contribute to global heating. Greener Practice provides information, tools and support to enable GP practices to move towards a more resilient, future-ready health service. There is still some way to go to roll out this approach at scale, but the momentum is growing rapidly and our members are at the forefront of this. They find that sustainable ways of working can be significantly more effective for long-term patient health whilst also saving time and money, and improving staff morale. Delivering a greener health service is a multiple win.’

Dr Katrina Davies, Greener Practice Director, adds, ‘Sustainable healthcare is about better care and better patient health. It’s not extra work, it’s an approach that delivers multiple benefits. Our members have access to more than 120 tools and resources to help them make their practice more sustainable, plus over 50 evidenced-based Quality Improvement Projects (QIPs). These step-by-step ‘how to’ guides, with case studies and certificates, which for many projects calculate carbon and cost savings, make the whole process straightforward for busy GPs. We align all our QIPs with the Care Quality Commission’s sustainability standards for general practice. This means members using our QIPs can readily demonstrate they are taking action towards meeting CQC requirements. On successful implementation of a QIP, members can quickly generate a certificate, stating multiple benefits including, in many cases, the financial and carbon savings, where this can be calculated.’

Dr Nadja van Ginneken, leader of Cheshire and Merseyside Greener Practice Group says, ‘Forming a Greener Practice group here in Cheshire and Merseyside has provided a real catalyst for change. Our pilot projects achieved not only a triple win of improved patient care and wellbeing, reduced carbon impact, and cost savings unanimously, but also improved staff morale in 80% of projects, which was unexpected – it is therefore a quadruple win. This breaks down the myth that GP practices should not do sustainability work due to already having too much to do. This type of project creates a sense of community and common purpose among staff and patients alike. It’s the future of primary care - a service that is more resilient and more sustainable.

For more information:

Visit: Greener Practice at the Primary Care Show stand 153

Website: Greenerpractice.co.uk

Email: contact@greenerpractice.com

LinkedIn: linkedin.com/company/greener-practice/

Instagram: greener_practice