In February we published a report, Climate change is a public health emergency, which explores how trusts are taking the initiative to reduce carbon emissions and improve sustainability. It looks at the barriers and enablers for trust boards to make change happen and shares good practice from trusts across the country. The NHS’ ambition is to become a net zero health service for emissions it controls directly by 2040, and for emissions it can influence by 2045. However, it is important the NHS makes real progress before 2030 to make that ambition achievable.

We recommend that trust boards should consider: how they obtain and access sufficient expertise in this area; how sustainability is embedded into their (and their relevant ICS’s) strategies and plans; and how this agenda is owned across the trust leadership. Governors may wish to ask non-executive directors how the trust is embedding environmental sustainability into its ‘business as usual’ work and how the trust is assured that the relevant ICS(s) is addressing this agenda in its strategies and plans.