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More than 40 Superdrug pharmacy branches have achieved bronze status under the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s (RPS) Greener Pharmacy Toolkit, since the toolkit launched in April 2025, according to data analysed by The Pharmaceutical Journal.
The NHS-commissioned toolkit, which is available across Great Britain and is free to use, was developed by the RPS to help pharmacies become more environmentally sustainable.
Pharmacies can use the toolkit to monitor and reduce their environmental impact across a range of aspects, including clinical practice and travel.
The toolkit, which launched on 8 April 2025, is supported by the Greener NHS programme and enables pharmacies to aim for bronze, silver and gold accreditation.
Each accreditation level comes with a certificate, which can be displayed to demonstrate the pharmacy’s commitment to the environment.
A spokesperson for Superdrug told The Pharmaceutical Journal: “We have 42 pharmacies which have completed the RPS Greener Pharmacy Toolkit, so far, and expect that all of our pharmacies will have completed this and achieved bronze status by 30 June 2025.
“It’s our ambition to work towards silver status and, ultimately, gold in 2026.
“The Greener Pharmacy Toolkit is a fantastic initiative, which aligns closely with the wider work we already do in this area. Sustainability is a key strategic pillar for us as a business, and we have already implemented a number of ongoing strategies to support our environmental goals, including our partnership with TerraCycle, which allows customers to recycle their empty medicine blister packs at our pharmacies.”
Data from the toolkit, analysed by The Pharmaceutical Journal, shows that some hospital pharmacies are also now working towards bronze accreditation.
Wing Tang, head of professional standards at the RPS, said: “We’re glad to see advocates for environmental sustainability starting to use the RPS Greener Pharmacy Toolkit in both community and hospital pharmacy.
“In community, we’re delighted that Superdrug pharmacies are leading the way with over 40 of their stores already achieving the RPS’s bronze level of attainment, and in hospital, we’re glad to see a number of trusts across different integrated care board areas making good progress.”
Speaking to The Pharmaceutical Journal earlier in May 2025, Minna Eii, advanced pharmacist practitioner at South Tyneside and Sunderland NHS Foundation Trust and co-founder of Pharmacy Declares, who helped develop the toolkit, said: “This is about how to make pharmacy sustainable for the future. It’s not just saving your carbon footprint, not just about emissions, it is about making your life easier, being more efficient and improving patient care.”
The RPS is hosting a Greener Pharmacy Toolkit webinar on 29 May 2025 to share ways in which pharmacy teams can introduce more sustainable practices.
