Activity stream action plans for 2024-2026

Carbon management

Public Health Wales commits to introducing best practice carbon management processes which form a solid foundation to enable successful implementation of our Action Plan. Best practice carbon management goes beyond the monitoring and reporting of our GHG emissions to include the development and implementation of decarbonisation action plans, target setting, and supporting behavioural change in relation to decarbonisation. We recognise that there needs to be a dedicated shift within our processes to place greater emphasis on decarbonisation across our operations; facilitated by embedding carbon management within our directorates. To enable this, we need to support staff to understand the impact of their action on the environment and improve how we measure our carbon emissions.

Realising net zero 2030	We understand the impact on the environment of everything we do.
Making progress: 2026-2030	We can measure our carbon footprint accurately and the approach is embedded within programme and project methodology and our decision making process.
Next steps for 2024-2026	Continued development of our approach to capacity building and training to support climate conscious public health practice. Increased staff awareness of the importance of reducing our carbon footprint, encouraging staff to take forward initiatives and action within their directorates and divisions.

Action Reference	Key Action	Action Delivery Date	Potential Impact for Carbon Emission Reduction	Links to Foundational Economy	Links to Circular Economy
CMO1	Set up process and undertake quarterly review and comparison of data to clarify progress and inform the ongoing development of interim internal targets in-line with NHS Wales Decarbonisation Strategic Delivery Plan targets.	02/09/24	Low
CMO2	Incorporate our Decarbonisation and Sustainability Plan within Public Health Wales Integrated Medium-Term Plan (IMTP) reporting process.	31/05/24	Low
CMO3	Develop and publish updated Decarbonisation and Sustainability Plan 2026-28.	31/03/26	Medium	Yes	Yes
CMO4	Agree decarbonisation themes to be submitted for development in Public Health Wales Climate Change Community of Practice	31/03/26	Low		Yes
CMO5	Continue to develop our approach to capacity building and training to support climate conscious public health practice. This will include promoting existing online training modules (available within ESR), carbon literacy style training and the Hub's Healthy Environment toolkit.	31/12/25	Low		Yes
CMO6	Develop a communications and engagement plan for activity we will use to embed our action plan and raise awareness throughout the organisation and support action to reduce carbon footprint.	31/07/24	Low		Yes
CMO7	Roll out Healthy Environment workshop to 100% of Directorates within Public Health Wales by March 2026.	27/02/2026	Medium		Yes
CMO8	Develop decarbonisation internet and intranet pages for staff, to promote the action plan and Public Health Wales's carbon emission reduction/ achievements. Include links to foundational/circular economy, WBFG and biodiversity on other intranet pages.	15/11/24	Low	Yes	Yes
CMO9	Develop decarbonisation internet and intranet pages for staff, to promote the action plan and Public Health Wales's carbon emission reduction/ achievements. Include links to foundational/circular economy, WBFG and biodiversity on other intranet pages.	30/04/25	Low
CM10	Embed measurement of carbon footprint and foundational economy impacts into early planning of projects and programmes and business cases within Public Health Wales to support decision making.	22/12/25	Medium	Yes

Buildings and our estate

Public Health Wales manages our services across Wales. Due to the variety of services we deliver for our local communities, we operate from a variety of different buildings including clinics, laboratories, and offices within larger hospital and health care settings, the majority of which are leased from partner health boards and trusts within NHS Wales. The most significant source of GHG emissions from our site-based activities is associated with the use of electricity and gas.

Realising net zero: 2030	New buildings and developments are built to a net zero standard Where possible, all buildings are supplied with low carbon heating and generate their own electricity We share our space across the public sector
Making progress: 2026- 2030	Existing buildings will be highly energy efficient or scheduled for replacement & renewable heat schemes will be rolled out. We have worked with health boards to reduce carbon emissions and increase energy efficiency at hospital sites Single use plastics are not used within Public Health Wales
Next steps: 2024-2026	Our construction programmes include mandatory net zero objectives. We have reduced our waste and implemented recycling best practice across the organisation We understand the carbon emissions of staff working from home more accurately

Action Reference	Key Action	Action Delivery Date	Potential Impact for Carbon Emission Reduction	Links to Foundational Economy	Links to Circular Economy
BE01	Undertake a costing exercise for our estate to inform investment in future decarbonisation technology.	31/03/25	Medium
BE02	Work with Welsh Government’s Energy Service to explore opportunities to deploy renewable technologies (e.g. Solar Photovoltaics) in appropriate buildings across the Public. Health Wales estate	31/03/26	Medium
BE03	Work with Welsh Government’s Energy Service to explore opportunities to deploy renewable technologies (e.g. Solar Photovoltaics) in appropriate buildings across the Public Health Wales estate	31/03/2025	Medium		Yes
BE04	Work with Welsh Government’s Energy Service to explore opportunities to deploy renewable technologies (e.g. Solar Photovoltaics) in appropriate buildings across the Public Health Wales estate	31/03/26	Low		Yes
BE05	Ongoing communications to support the correct segregation of waste by staff through providing space, bins and visual aids.	30/09/24	Low		Yes
BE06	Work closely with waste contractors and building landlords to improve waste collection data.	31/03/25	Low		Yes
BE07	Review use of single use plastics and replace with sustainable alternatives where feasible for individual service areas in non-clinical settings	31/03/26	Medium		Yes
BE08	Investigate wider opportunities for carbon offsetting schemes that benefit the local environment and communities (e.g., tree planting programmes).	31/03/25	Medium	Yes
BE09	Undertake review and identify areas to improve how energy is used within buildings/sites (e.g. reduce unnecessary cooling in summer and heating in winter in office buildings).	31/03/25	Medium

Transport and Travel

Public Health Wales recognises that it has an important role to play in decarbonising its vehicle fleets as well as supporting our employees to make healthier and more sustainable transport choices. Reducing exhaust emissions from our vehicle fleet will help not only to reduce our GHG emissions but will also contribute to improving air quality within the communities we serve. The majority (52.3%) of our transport emissions result from travel completed by our Grey Fleet (vehicles owned by staff and driven for business purposes). Unlike our owned fleets where we can directly intervene to reduce emissions, reducing emissions from our Grey Fleet requires Public Health Wales to support our staff to adopt sustainable transport methods and enable flexibility to work in different ways.

Realising net zero: 2030	We have reduced our carbon footprint for transport and travel to levels seen during the pandemic
Making progress: 2026- 2030	We have increased the number of staff using sustainable transport methods and increased percentage undertaking active travel Supported more staff to work flexibly, making use of shared spaces and reducing the need for our estate
Next steps 2024-2026	We have a fully electric/ hybrid fleet of vehicles and supporting infrastructure across Wales We understand the carbon footprint of our staff business and commuting travel

Action Reference	Key Action	Action Delivery Date	Potential Impact for Carbon Emission Reduction	Links to Foundational Economy	Links to Circular Economy
T01	Undertake a review of provision of EV charging for staff vehicles and engage with site owners to increase the provision of infrastructure.	28/02/25	Low
T02	Procure battery-electric vehicle replacements and/or ultra-low emissions vehicles (hybrids) to replace DESW fleet.	31/03/26	High
T03	Review options and feasibility for electric bike charging for staff and engage with site owners to increase provision.	28/02/25	Low
T04	Develop a Public Health Wales travel policy to incorporate sustainable travel and consider feedback from the 2023 staff travel survey.	31/03/25	High
T05	Use the data and insights gathered as part of the staff travel survey and focus groups to consider potential interventions, explore opportunities and promote options to support healthy, sustainable travel behaviours and promote greener commuting and business travel.	23/12/24	Medium
T06	Expand the Cardiff Healthy Travel Charter commitments to all Public Health Wales, covering all sites across Wales.	31/03/26	Low
T07	Process developed to capture emissions data for all forms of staff business travel (including train, bus, ferry, air, car – single occupancy, car – car sharing etc.)	30/06/24	Low
T08	Capture and collate staff commuting data annually	31/03/26	Low

Procurement

The procurement of goods and services through NWSSP Procurement Services represents Public Health Wales’s largest indirect environmental impact but also an opportunity to support cross-sector decarbonisation across our supply chain. Public Health Wales will look to understand how our current behaviours surrounding procurement contribute to our GHG emissions and will identify actions to improve the sustainability of our procured goods. Reducing the amount of single-use plastic promotional items procured and reviewing the requirement to have hard-copies of publications, are just two examples of where we can look to reduce our GHG emissions

Realising net zero: 2030	Public Health Wales has a near net zero, Welsh supply chain
Making progress: 2026- 2030	We have worked with our largest suppliers to explore opportunities to reduce climate impacts and our associated carbon emissions Requesting zero carbon alternatives and using principles of circular economy are routine practice and supported across the organisation
Next steps 2024-2026	All procurement activity has a minimum weighting given to carbon reduction We have worked with NWSSP to gain an improved understanding of the carbon emissions associated with our supply chain and identified areas of greatest impact

Action Reference	Key Action	Action Delivery Date	Potential Impact for Carbon Emission Reduction	Links to Foundational Economy	Links to Circular Economy
P01	Incorporation of sustainability into all organisational specifications, to ensure inclusion in procurement evaluations.	31/01/25	Medium
P02	Creation of updated guidance for writing specifications and weighting of sustainability elements in tenders. Incorporate Circular and Foundational Economy Principles within all tender specifications.	31/01/25	Medium	Yes	Yes
P03	Undertake an exercise with contract managers to develop action plans following review of the green credentials/foundational economy/living wage employer considerations of our five highest spend suppliers.	11/04/25	Medium	Yes
P04	Work with contract managers to undertake evaluation of the action plans exercise and consider ways in which Public Health Wales may be able to influence in these areas.	30/05/25	Medium	Yes
P05	Work with NWSSP procurement team to undertake a review of Public Health Wales vs hosted services procurement, to better understand Public Health Wales carbon footprint.	30/09/24	Low
P06	Embed sustainability / WBFGA within our procurement policies and practices.	31/03/26	Medium	Yes
P07	Implement a project of work to further reduce paper usage and towards Public Health Wales being paper-free at a future date.	25/10/24	Medium		Yes
P08	Implement a project of work to further reduce paper usage and towards Public Health Wales being paper-free at a future date.	30/09/25	Medium		Yes
P09	Review of spend with procurement managers to identify key spend areas that can be focussed on for greatest impacts in carbon reduction.	31/10/25	Medium
P10	Develop and publish a Sustainable Procurement Code of Practice to aid interaction with our suppliers. To include risk assessments, inclusion of carbon management in tenders etc.	31/03/25	Medium	Yes	Yes
P11	Develop information guide for suppliers on Public Health Wales requirements in relation to procurement and carbon footprint.	27/06/25	Low
P12	Review current procurement behaviours in the organisation and provide useful engagement and messaging for staff to support behaviour change and promote best practice. Include promotion of ‘Be the Change – Procurement that doesn’t cost the earth’ e-guide. Creation of a case study on procurement best practice in Public Health Wales.	31/03/25	Low
P13	Engage with the scoping and development of the 'Public Health in the Well-Being Economy' programme to support NHS as a Foundational Economy and investing in prevention for the NHS, Wales and WHO. Under strategic priority Sustainable health & care system, SO4.2	30/04/25	Low	Yes

Approaches to delivering our services

It is well documented that there is a significant link between the impacts of Climate Change and the health and well-being of people. Health and well-being related impacts resulting from Climate Change are wide ranging; impacting upon physical, mental, and financial wellbeing of the communities we serve. Existing economic and health inequalities mean that health and well-being risks are likely to disproportionately impact those on lower incomes. Our approach to service provision needs to factor in these impacts and ensure we can continue to effectively provide for our service users.

Realising net zero: 2030	The provision of all our services we deliver to the public are carbon neutral
Making progress: 2026- 203	We have reduced the percentage of single use plastics procured and used within our Microbiology and Screening Services We have reduced the waste our services produce across Public Health Wales by 50% Social Prescribing is the norm across Wales
Next steps: 2024-2026	We have transitioned to reusable PPE for screening and microbiology services, where appropriate

Action Reference	Key Action	Action Delivery Date	Potential Impact for Carbon Emission Reduction	Links to Foundational Economy	Links to Circular Economy
A01	Undertake a review of current service delivery operations to identify where procedures and process can be changed or optimised to make these more sustainable	31/03/25	Medium
A02	Working with the Digital Design Data Authority group, complete a review of the current approach to delivering our services to identify areas of Public Health Wales that may significantly benefit from digitalisation.	25/04/25	Medium
A03	Complete an internal review across Screening Programmes to identify areas where reductions in paper can be achieved through digitalisation and LIMS system.	23/12/24	High
A04	Transition to reusable PPE for screening and microbiology services, where appropriate.	31/03/25	Medium		Yes
A05	Work with Public Health Wales’s five highest spend suppliers to identify potential areas where wastage can be reduced.	11/04/25	Medium
A06	Promote the use of the "National Framework for Social Prescribing"	21/06/24	Low
A07	Undertake trials within our Microbiology Services to identify where materials can be switched to more sustainable alternatives. Focus on highest carbon impact items including loop sterilisation, sample. specimen bags, solution bottles and agar plates.	28/11/25	Medium		Yes
A08	Publish a new Biodiversity Action Plan by the end of 2024.	22/12/24	Low
A09	Publish Section 6 Biodiversity and Resilience of Ecosystems Duty report in late 2025.	31/12/25	Low