Workshop: 17 October (Tue) 7.30-11.30 BST/ 17.30-21.30 AEDT
- Self-study period opens: 19 September
This is a carbon literacy course for health professionals and quality improvement leads. It offers an understanding of what a carbon footprint is, how it can be used in the health sector’s endeavour to go net zero and how it is measured.
Course description
In order for the NHS to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions to net zero by 2040, and net zero within its supply chain by 2045, carbon needs to become an additional currency alongside money, understood by all working in the health system. Though we know the NHS’s carbon footprint overall, the carbon impact of specific projects and operations (service changes, quality improvement projects or procurement of new products) are not routinely measured. This carbon footprinting course will help health professionals, quality improvement leads and medical students to become carbon literate. You will gain an understanding of what a carbon footprint is, how it can be used in the NHS’s endeavor to go net zero and how it is measured. You will also learn about different carbon footprinting studies in healthcare and what can be learned from them.
Course objectives:
- Recognise the interconnectedness of health, healthcare and climate change
- Understand what a carbon footprint is, why it is important to measure it, and how the two main carbon footprinting methodologies differ
- Identify the steps in estimating a carbon footprint of a quality improvement project or clinical pathway
- Find and use carbon conversion factors
- Recognise good practice in carbon footprinting studies in healthcare
- Practice carbon footprinting on a small/simple quality improvement project
