Sustainability Policy

Our commitment

Climate change is a public health emergency. As a healthcare provider, we recognise our dual responsibility: to care for the health of our patients today, and to reduce the environmental impact of doing so for the patients of tomorrow.

This policy sets out how MHW Clinic is working to reduce our environmental footprint across our clinical operations, procurement, energy use, waste, and travel. It will evolve over time as we measure, learn, and improve.

Why this matters for healthcare

Healthcare accounts for approximately 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. The NHS estimates that 4-5% of the UK’s carbon footprint comes from healthcare delivery, including medicines, equipment, building energy use, and travel.

Private clinics like MHW have a smaller individual footprint than NHS trusts, but the same per-patient impact. We believe private providers should be no less ambitious than the NHS in pursuing net zero, and where possible should lead.

Our principles

• Measure first. We cannot manage what we do not measure. Where reasonable, we collect data on energy, waste, and travel.
• Reduce before offsetting. We prioritise actual emissions reductions over carbon offsets.
• Don’t compromise safety. Single-use medical devices remain where infection control or clinical safety requires them. Sustainability does not override patient safety.
• Be honest. We will not greenwash. Where we are doing well, we will say so. Where we are not, we will say that too.
• Influence the supply chain. Our biggest impact is upstream — through who we buy from and what we choose to buy.

Energy and building use

Our Whitechapel clinic is housed in a shared multi-tenant building. Within our control, we:

• Use LED lighting throughout the clinic
• Operate motion sensors and time-controlled lighting in clinical and back-office rooms where practical
• Set heating and cooling thermostats to NHS-recommended ranges (typically 19-22°C in patient areas)
• Switch off all non-essential equipment outside clinic hours
• Use energy-efficient computing equipment, with cloud-based services where the host provider has documented renewable energy commitments

Where the building landlord is responsible for energy supply, we encourage adoption of renewable tariffs as those contracts renew.

Waste reduction and management

Clinical and pharmaceutical waste is segregated, tracked, and disposed of in accordance with the Environment Agency and Hazardous Waste Regulations 2005:

• Sharps waste: dedicated FP10 sharps containers, collected by a licensed clinical waste provider
• Clinical/infectious waste: orange-bag stream, incinerated
• Pharmaceutical waste: separate stream, returned to a licensed disposal provider
• General waste: minimised and recycled where possible
• Confidential paper: shredded and recycled via a GDPR-compliant provider

We are actively reducing single-use plastic where infection control and clinical safety allow, including reusable water bottles for staff, reusable cups in the staff room, and reduced reliance on paper records (electronic records via Pabau).

Sustainable procurement

We aim to buy from suppliers who themselves act sustainably. When procuring clinical equipment, consumables, and office supplies, we consider:

• Whether the supplier has a published environmental policy or net-zero commitment
• Whether the product has recyclable or biodegradable packaging
• Whether reusable alternatives exist that meet our clinical and infection-control requirements
• Origin and transport distance (UK and EU suppliers preferred where the product is equivalent)
• Whole-life cost rather than only purchase price

Digital care to reduce travel

Where clinically appropriate, we offer:

• Video and telephone consultations for follow-up appointments
• Electronic prescription delivery to a pharmacy of the patient’s choice
• Digital test results and report sharing
• Video follow-up for international patients to avoid unnecessary repeat international travel

This both improves access and reduces the carbon impact of patient travel.

Staff travel

Most of our staff live within reasonable commuting distance of the Whitechapel clinic, accessible by Underground, Overground, Elizabeth Line, bus, or cycle. We:

• Encourage walking, cycling, and public transport for staff commuting
• Reimburse public transport in preference to mileage where staff travel for work
• Offer the Cycle to Work scheme
• Hold staff meetings in person and video to minimise unnecessary cross-city travel

Patient and staff education

We support the principle of sustainable healthcare by:

• Including sustainability awareness in staff induction
• Avoiding over-prescribing and over-testing — both of which carry real environmental footprints
• Supporting deprescribing reviews for patients on long-term medications where clinically appropriate
• Promoting lifestyle interventions (exercise, nutrition, sleep, smoking cessation) which both improve health and reduce healthcare system demand

Honest limitations

We are a small private clinic. We do not currently:

• Publish a comprehensive carbon footprint calculation
• Have ISO 14001 certification or equivalent
• Operate our own building energy infrastructure (we are a tenant)
• Have the procurement scale to dictate supplier behaviour

We plan to introduce measurement of our energy use and waste volumes over the next 12 months, and to publish a more detailed annual sustainability review by 2027.

Reporting and accountability

This policy is owned by the Clinical Director. It will be reviewed annually as part of our governance cycle and updated whenever there is a material change to our operations or to relevant regulation.

Concerns or suggestions about our environmental practice are welcome — contact info@mhwclinic.co.uk.

Signed: Dr Haydar Bolat, Clinical Director
Date: May 2026
Next review: May 2027