Climate change has been identified as the century’s most pressing health threat. But it also presents an unprecedented opportunity to redefine the social care environment. For care providers, this means rethinking all operations from the ground up.
Anthony Mann, Business Development Manager, Acticare
Over the past few years, sustainability has become an increasingly important focus area for the UK’s care sector. Between climate change, population growth and the government’s 2050 net zero commitment, care organisations have had to start looking for ways to meet the growing demand for sophisticated care while addressing urgent environmental responsibilities.
Against a background where costs keep going up, staffing is a challenge and growing social and economic pressures are a constant concern, it’s easy to believe that there are higher priorities than investment in sustainability, but the opposite is true. Sustainability in UK care homes is not just an environmental imperative but a pathway to enhanced health, economic savings, and regulatory compliance. By adopting sustainable practices, your care home can significantly reduce its environmental impact while improving the quality of life for residents.
Why sustainability matters
Care homes, like other large facilities, consume substantial amounts of energy and resources. Implementing sustainable practices can significantly reduce the carbon footprint of your care home, helping move towards net-zero targets. Collectively, this can help counter the effects of climate change.
Sustainable practices can improve indoor air quality, reduce exposure to harmful chemicals, and promote healthier living environments. This is great for staff but particularly important for the elderly and vulnerable, who are often more susceptible to health issues.
Energy-efficient systems and sustainable resource management can lead to considerable cost savings. You can do this without compromising standards. Concentrates of industrial cleaning products and products with reduced packaging, for example, are just as effective. Plus, any savings could be redirected to improve care facilities for residents.
Committing to sustainability
Of course, sustainability is also becoming increasingly important from a regulatory point of view. The UK government has set ambitious targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and promoting sustainability. Care homes that adopt sustainable practices are more likely to meet these regulatory requirements and avoid potential penalties.
The Care Quality Commission (CQC) plans to incorporate sustainability practices into its inspection framework. Their quality statement on environmental sustainability emphasises the importance of understanding and reducing negative environmental impacts while supporting others in doing the same.
This regulatory shift coincides with growing consumer awareness. Today’s care home residents and their families increasingly factor environmental responsibility into their choice of care provider. Demonstrating a commitment to sustainability can enhance a care home’s reputation and foster greater community support. It shows that the care home is forward-thinking and dedicated to the well-being of both its residents and the planet. For care organisations, sustainability isn’t just an ethical imperative – it’s becoming a business necessity.
Meeting the challenge
The numbers tell a compelling story. The UK’s 16,726 care homes, providing essential services to over 441,000 people, represent a significant environmental footprint. According to estimates, the average care home’s annual carbon impact is around 100 tonnes. When we consider that England’s health and care system accounts for approximately 5% of the country’s national greenhouse gas emissions, the scale of the challenge – and the opportunity – becomes clear.
With an ageing population requiring increasingly complex care services, many care organisations will also expand their operations and, inevitably, their resource consumption. This means that there is a critical need to integrate sustainable practices within care facilities. By planning carefully and implementing a few strategic changes, this expansion doesn’t have to harm the environment or your bottom line.
In fact, integrating sustainability into your operations benefits the environment, enhances the quality of life for residents and ensures the long-term viability of care homes. Add to that the cost benefits of being more sustainable, and you have a compelling reason to go green.
Optimal operations
While the environmental benefits of sustainable practices are clear, many care providers worry about the financial implications of “going green”. However, evidence suggests that sustainability and financial success are not mutually exclusive. In fact, they often go hand in hand.
The key lies in understanding that sustainability isn’t just about switching to eco-friendly alternatives – it’s about optimising resource use and reducing waste across operations. Every reduction in utility consumption or waste production translates directly to cost savings. From more efficient laundry processes to streamlined cleaning protocols, sustainable practices can help care homes maintain or even improve standards while reducing operational costs.
For example, installing low-flow showerheads and tap aerators can reduce water consumption without compromising resident comfort or hygiene standards. Implementing a laundry schedule that ensures full loads and more regular cold water usage can significantly decrease water and energy usage. Care homes can also install motion sensors for lighting in common areas and corridors, ensuring lights are only active when needed.
Care homes can implement comprehensive recycling and composting systems to minimise waste. Encouraging residents and staff to reduce, reuse, and recycle can have a significant impact. You could even get residents involved in reuse or even upcycling projects.
A balancing act
Care providers face several common challenges in implementing sustainable practices.
Perhaps the most significant challenge is managing the delicate balance between environmental goals and care standards. Care homes must maintain rigorous hygiene and safety standards while reducing resource consumption, which requires careful consideration of product choices and usage protocols.
Financial pressures often make it challenging to justify initial investments in sustainable solutions. However, the long-term cost benefits of these investments frequently outweigh the initial expenditure.
For example, Acticare has found that automated dosing systems for cleaning products can reduce product usage by up to 60%. Switching over to e-dosing can translate into substantial savings while ensuring consistent, or even improved, standards. Using less product is, of course, also better for the environment.
Another common problem is inconsistent product usage and poor stock control, leading to waste and inefficient spending. Without standardised reporting and monitoring systems, it can become impossible for care organisations to identify areas of inefficiency or track where improvements can be made.
A case of sustainable change
Minster Care Group, which has 90+ care homes across the UK, presents a good example of how care organisations can overcome some of these challenges. Using different products and varying housekeeping procedures, Minster Care Group had multiple ordering methods and different budgets across homes.
This not only led to frustrated cleaning and housekeeping teams, but some homes were not meeting the group’s desired hygiene standards. In addition, the care organisation had to deal with higher plastic waste output due to the increased use of products.
Thanks to their partnership with Acticare, Minster Care Group implemented a number of sustainable practices while maintaining the high care standards they’re known for. The Acticare team worked closely with the Minster Care team to identify key housekeeping tasks and the required cleaning products, using this as a basis for a reduced range of cleaning chemicals.
Acticare helped Minster Care Group eliminate unnecessary and duplicated products and introduce a standardised hygiene manual. Creating a simplified ordering and reporting process, Acticare helped reduce Minster Care Group’s chemical range of products, which also reduced plastic waste. Acticare also provided staff training to ensure the products and processes were understood and being followed correctly across all of Minster Care Group’s homes.
Social sustainability
When it comes to sustainability, a lot of focus goes into the physical impact of a care home on its environment, but there is a key element that is often ignored: the social side. Social sustainability is something care home operators already address by virtue of the nature of their business, but it should also be viewed through a wider lens that clearly encompasses other responsible business factors.
Research makes it clear that companies that support and empower their people and are active parts of their local communities do better than those that don’t. Organisations that are visibly connecting with and supporting their local communities attract more talent, are less likely to deal with concerns about having a care service in the community and will promote a more positive view of the social care sector.
Ultimately, social sustainability helps improve your care home’s business reputation. Here are a few ways you can promote social sustainability:
- Support your workforce
Making your nursing home a safe, welcoming, and desirable place to work enhances its reputation while making the lives of employees and residents better. Your staff are a vital part of your sustainability efforts, so communicate with them and encourage them to actively participate in any sustainability projects through regular updates and meetings. Ask staff for their input and suggestions on how the nursing home can become more sustainable and implement schemes that will help them feel more involved. For example, encourage staff to reduce vehicle use by promoting walking and cycling. This will not only improve their health but will bolster sustainability efforts too.
- Engage the community
Creating a community is about more than just establishing a comfortable home for residents. If you contribute to the local community, such as investing in local projects or funding educational and sustainability initiatives, your own sustainability ideas will get more support. For example, sustainable gardening can become a community initiative, while also providing your home with an additional source of food. Even small projects can reap large rewards.
- Turn your suppliers into a force for sustainability.
- Your suppliers should not only be able to help you buy local as much as possible, but they should also be able to advise you on more sustainable alternatives.
Procuring food, cleaning supplies, and other materials from sustainable sources can reduce your care home’s environmental footprint. This includes choosing local, organic food and using eco-friendly cleaning products. Your suppliers should be a supporter and enabler of your sustainability goals.
Demonstrating sustainable leadership
Effective care leadership requires balancing short-term needs with long-term goals.
Sustainability isn’t just about meeting the regulatory requirements that are headed our way – it’s about ensuring care organisations’ long-term viability and success while safeguarding our collective future.
Sustainability is a transformative journey that promises significant rewards for your care home, your residents, and the broader community. In the quest to create a better world, care organisations are not just taking care of people. Taking care of the planet is just as important for long-term viability and corporate social responsibility.
As the demand for sustainable practices continues to grow, care homes that embrace these changes will not only contribute to a healthier planet but also set a standard for excellence in the care community. While sustainability is a long-term initiative, it doesn’t have to be a massive undertaking. If you start small, focusing on the areas where you can make immediate gains, the next step will be even easier.
In the words of the CQC guidance: “Be prepared to demonstrate what you are doing to reduce the impact on your environment and how you are incorporating renewable energy, sustainable transport, and environmentally friendly waste management into your day-to-day working.”
The transition to sustainable practices isn’t just an environmental imperative – it’s an opportunity to enhance operational efficiency, reduce costs, and improve care quality. Fortunately, leading more sustainable organisations is becoming easier by the day, thanks to continuous innovation by leading care sector suppliers.
At Acticare, our goal is to help care organisations reduce their product usage instead of simply switching to sustainable eco variants, which often don’t perform to the required standard. We truly believe that by being more sustainable, you can have a positive impact on the planet and run a more profitable business.
Acticare supports and enables care homes’ sustainability goals and have been certified by Planet Mark as a business that continually strives to reduce their own carbon footprint. From catering to cleaning products, they stock over 2,000 product lines, ready to be delivered to your care homes. Get in touch to learn more.