NHS England Climate Change Risk Assessment (CCRA) Tool
We were appointed by NHS England and NHS Improvement to produce an interactive CCRA tool that all Integrated Care Boards (ICBs) and NHS Trusts can use to inform their Green Plans.
Supporting NHS Net Zero commitments
In 2020, the NHS became the world’s first health system to commit to reaching net zero emissions. As part of this commitment, all integrated care boards (ICBs) and NHS trusts are required to develop and regularly update a Green Plan, which includes an assessment of physical climate change risks to guide adaptation.
Assessing climate risks in healthcare
Climate change risk assessments identify the likelihood of current and future climate hazards and their potential impacts. This information helps improve understanding of required adaptation, and resilience-building measures as well as tracking impacts over time.
Within the NHS, there is an emphasis on considering climate risks when making infrastructure decisions and designing new facilities, including enhancements like improved green spaces, drainage systems and passive cooling solutions. However, producing climate change risk assessments for healthcare providers lacks a single, clear methodology and can be a lengthy and expensive process.
Co-developing a comprehensive climate risk tool
The CCRA tool we developed encompassed all potential climate hazards that could impact healthcare sites. We conducted a workshop drawing in adaptation and sustainability leads for NHS Trusts from across England, as well as sustainability leads from NHS England and NHS Improvement. Attendees were invited to work through the prototype version of the tool, allowing for iterative development and critical assessment of the chosen metrics.
After finishing the production of the tool, we created guidance, which provided step-by-step instructions on how to use it. This process ensured easy uptake and utilisation by local sites across NHS England.
The tool’s ability to assess climate risk provides a framework for adaptation and delivers consistent outputs for end-users to improve the adaptive capacity of local sites across NHS England. Stakeholder engagement and input into development enabled the tool to be aligned with industry needs and reflect current scientific knowledge for each climate hazard and impact. The tool provided a crucial step in building NHS England and Improvement’s resilience to climate change.
For more information on this project, please contact Ben Rabb.
