From literacy to leadership: communicating effectively for change

Health professionals are trusted communicators and important advocates in issues of public health.

At a time when the public has lost faith in politicians and the media, the voices of nurses, doctors, pharmacists, and other health professionals are essential to accelerate a society-wide transition to a healthy, sustainable, and equitable world. 

Framing the climate crisis as a health crisis can help people see global warming not as a distant abstract concept but as something relevant to their lives and the lives of their families.

You don’t need to be an expert or have all the answers to start engaging others. Focus on what matters to your colleagues, start small, and build from there.

The most effective sustainability projects are often those that start with a conversation and grow through collaboration.

Learn more

Read:  “Defining Roles and Responsibilities of the Health Workforce to Respond to the Climate Crisis”.  

Watch: Lancet Countdown 2024 report video 

Listen: The Ecomedics Podcast, Real Zero Podcast 

• Frame environmental sustainability as an integral part of high quality care—not an add-on
• Align with organisational values and strategy and highlight responsibilities and mandatory reporting under the NHS Net Zero commitments
• Underline the ways in which sustainable care, particularly prevention and admission avoidance, can tackle health inequalities and the NHS England Core20plus5 aspirations
• Highlight opportunities where carbon savings also deliver cost savings and clinical co-benefits
• Creating sustainable change relies not only on technical knowledge, but on people. Whether you’re trying to reduce emissions from inhaler prescribing or improve clinic travel options, engaging all interested parties is vital.
• Sustainability in practice is not a one-off event; it requires a shift in mindset and sustained engagement for lasting impact. You cannot reduce plastic waste in your department alone. You need your colleagues to work with you to achieve a collective change in practice. And if you leave or move department, the project will not be sustained unless it is embedded in local pathways.
• Thus, engaging all interested parties is essential for building support, developing resilient pathways and ensuring long-term success. In addition, such engagement supports inclusion of diverse perspectives, access to critical resources and co-development of strategies with those who will either be directly involved in the process or be affected by it. This fosters collaboration, trust and accountability–key factors for success.

Learn more

• Climate Resilience for Frontline Clinics Toolkit (extreme heat, floods, wildfires, …) Climate Resilient Health Clinics | Americares
• Toolkit for GPs to improve asthma outcomes and reduce carbon footprint High Quality and Low Carbon Asthma Care – Greener Practice - specifically to upskill HCPs (Education – Greener Practice)
• Guide for Quality Respiratory Prescribing to Improve Health and Reduce Emissions - The Community of Practice for Climate Resilient and Low Carbon Sustainable Health Systems and Respiratory : Quality prescribing strategy - a guide for improvement | Right Decisions

Here are some of the elements a sustainable respiratory department could have

• Teamwork – multiprofessional action
• Digitally enabled - online communication via email/hospital app re appointments, video appointments as well as face to face
• Patients bring own inhalers for technique coaching plus bins for inhaler recycling
• Posters on the walls on walking/singing groups, air pollution info, healthy eating, low carbon inhalers
• General recycling bins
• Prevention forms a key part of consultation eg support to stop smoking
• Lung function tests the same day as the main appointment to reduce travel
• Integrating/promoting sustainable prescribing practice in local guidelines
• Staff walk/commute by bike

Sustainability should be built into the way organisations deliver care, not added on afterwards. Respiratory teams can influence change by linking projects to Green Plans, patient care, and cost savings.

Governance and Strategy

• Make sure your Trust or ICB has a Net Zero lead, board group and Green Plan in line with NHS guidance.
• Push for sustainability to be part of business cases and service changes (triple bottom line: clinical, financial, environmental).
• Link respiratory work with Core20PLUS5 priorities to address inequality.
  
  

Procurement and Prescribing

• Work with procurement teams on supplier standards (e.g. Evergreen assessment).
• Ensure formularies support low-carbon inhalers and devices where clinically appropriate.
• Review use of consumables and equipment — avoid single-use where safe alternatives exist.

Services and Estates

• Ask if your organisation has a climate adaptation plan (heatwaves, extreme weather, medicine storage).
• Strengthen digital/remote services to cut unnecessary travel while keeping care accessible.
• Check facilities support active travel and provide green spaces and healthy food.

Culture and Communication

• Join existing sustainability groups or QI teams — build on what’s already happening.
• Share progress through short updates and celebrate small wins.
• Link with external networks to spread ideas and gain support.

Before starting from scratch, see if you can build on existing work.

Check if your organisation or ICB already has:

• A Green Plan or sustainability strategy
• A sustainability lead or committee (if yes, consider joining!)
• Ongoing QI work you could contribute to (e.g. see the QI section for examples eg inhaler recycling or telehealth expansion)

Share Your Progress and Impact once you get started

• Use short updates to share what’s happening (emails, posters, newsletters, update slides at meetings)
• Celebrate small wins—even basic changes like switching to digital patient info leaflets or adding air pollution advice to asthma action plans
• Use your results to get further support or expand your work
• Measure impact in as many useful ways as possible 

Connect to Broader Networks for Support

• You’re not alone! Joining a professional network can help you find ideas, collaborators, and encouragement.

If you’re embarking on a new project your first action should be to map out who you will need to speak to and include.

Depending on the scale and scope of the project these may include:

It can be useful to think in advance about barriers you may face, so that you don’t hit a wall early on, and you are ready with a constructive response to any challenges. 

Find system-level levers, such as changing formularies to prioritise lower carbon inhalers, work with procurement or waste teams to reduce waste or recycle more, work with ICS to develop green plans.

• Emphasize near-term health benefits of climate-change mitigation measures.
  • “Everyone will breathe cleaner, healthier air as we transition away from fossil fuels”
  • “Well insulated and ventilated homes use less energy and are the foundation for health”
• Be solutions-focused and practical
• Align messages with local and national priorities
  • Admission prevention is high quality care, cost saving and low carbon
  • Investing in prevention through smoking cessation services saves lives, reduces inequality and reduces resource use
  • The digital transition provides opportunities to better meet patient needs and reduce travel
  • Use short impactful evidence summaries or template letters eg from Medact 

If you would like to raise your voice about the impact of pollution and climate change on health, contacting your MP is a powerful way to be heard. You can write about your personal experience, ask for cleaner air initiatives, or support local green policies.

• Find your MP and contact them: https://www.writetothem.com
• Tips and a template to help write an impactful message: https://www.patients-association.org.uk/how-to-write-to-your-mp
• Vote for the political party that will do most to protect the environment
• Join with other environmental campaign groups, such as MedACT, UKHACC alliance, or the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare

Learn more

• Read:   Centre for Health Communication – 10 research-backed tips about climate communication with patients and the public
   
• Read: Climate Outreach - Talking climate handbook, how to have a climate change conversation
   
• Read: How to communicate about climate change with patients. BMJ
   
• Learning to treat the climate emergency together: Social tipping interventions by the health community. The Lancet Planetary Health

Clinical trials can be a major source of greenhouse gas emissions, but this is often not considered in clinical trial design. The nature of clinical trials often makes them carbon intensive. Some fundamental aspects of trial design could make them more cost-effective and carbon-efficient. For example, the adaptive trial designs implemented during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed multiple medications to be investigated within the same trial. The limitations on travel and requirements for virtual consultations during the pandemic could also provide an example of how trials can be run whilst minimising greenhouse gas emissions. 
More research into the carbon cost of interventions could be hugely valuable in guiding future steps in sustainable respiratory care. Recent examples include efforts to calculate the carbon footprint of asthma management in the UK, and post-hoc analyses of clinical trials using inhalers to quantify the carbon footprint of each arm. Reporting of carbon footprint analyses of clinical trials should be encouraged. For further discussions on greener clinical trials this viewpoint paper is recommended. 
Example – Finnish national Allergy Program (2008-2018)
Finland’s national Allergy Programme (2008–2018) successfully reduced asthma and allergy prevalence and treatment costs through a comprehensive, collaborative strategy.

Key elements included:

• Holistic Prevention: Shifting focus from medical treatment to promoting immunological tolerance, healthier lifestyles, and reducing unnecessary medicalisation of mild symptoms.
• Nature Engagement: Encouraging regular contact with natural environments to support immune health, known as the “Nature Step.”
• Early Intervention: Using early steroid treatments and improved diagnostics to manage asthma effectively, lowering hospital admissions and severe outcomes.
• Environmental Improvements: Reducing air pollution and promoting physical activity as integral components of the programme.
• Community Collaboration: Involving healthcare professionals, educators, and the public in a coordinated effort to improve outcomes.

Impact:

• Asthma and allergy rates plateaued, with fewer severe cases and hospitalisations.
• Direct and indirect costs associated with allergic diseases and asthma decreased by roughly 30% over the programme period.
• Large-scale educational initiatives reached thousands of healthcare professionals, enhancing knowledge and practice nationwide.
• The programme demonstrates how a comprehensive, multi-level approach integrating medical, environmental, and societal factors can achieve sustainable improvements in respiratory health.

Summary

Communicating about climate change is part of our duty to protect and promote health. Respiratory professionals are uniquely placed to connect the dots between climate and lungs, policy and practice, knowledge and action.

Visit our Examples and inspiration section to find out more

Access useful information in our resources section