Shutterstock.com
The General Pharmaceutical Council (GPhC) is encouraging providers of pharmacy education and training to consider “incorporating environmentally sustainable practice into their curriculums”.
In updated guidance, published on 25 February 2025, the regulator says providers should consider “how their course provision will support future pharmacists to be well-informed in relation to environmental factors affecting pharmacy and patients in their care” and ensure they are “equipped with appropriate knowledge, skills, understanding and behaviours to make a positive impact in this area through their practice”.
Through these changes, the GPhC said it aims to raise awareness of climate change and environmental sustainability within pharmacy education and training, as well as encourage providers and pharmacy professionals to build on work in this area and signpost to relevant resources.
The guidance describes education as a “key strategy in influencing positive changes to practice”.
Duncan Rudkin, chief executive of the GPhC, said: “At the GPhC, our mission is to protect, promote and maintain the health, safety and wellbeing of patients and the public by upholding standards and ensuring the quality of pharmacy education and practice. We recognise the pivotal role that pharmacy technicians, pharmacists and the wider pharmacy team play in delivering safe and effective healthcare services.
“In aligning with our commitment to ensure that individuals receive safe and effective pharmacy care, we acknowledge the pressing challenges posed by the climate crisis and environmental issues. The health and wellbeing of individuals are inextricably linked to planetary health, making it imperative for us to address and mitigate our environmental impact.”
Claire Anderson, president of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS), said: “We welcome the GPhC’s updated guidance. Climate change is a significant public health threat and further equipping pharmacists with the knowledge and skills to support greener practices is essential.
“Pharmacists and pharmacy teams already play a key role in reducing the environmental impact of medicines through initiatives like promoting greener prescribing, inhaler and blister pack recycling schemes and reducing medicines waste. Ensuring sustainability is embedded in education and training will empower the profession to make informed, lasting contributions to net zero goals.
“At [the] RPS, we continue to support the profession in reducing its environmental footprint through initiatives like our climate change charter and the upcoming greener pharmacy toolkit, which will provide practical tools to help pharmacy teams measure and lower their environmental impact,” Anderson added.
GPhC council papers from its July 2024 council meeting revealed plans to incorporate environmental sustainability into its pharmacy regulation processes, as part of its carbon zero action plan.
The ‘Carbon net zero action plan for sustainable pharmacy regulation’, published in August 2024, includes an objective to integrate ‘greener’ thinking into its regulatory framework, such as through pharmacy education and training, with the goal to reach carbon net zero by 2040.
The NHS contributes 4% towards England’s total carbon footprint, of which medicines account for 25% of emissions. It has pledged to be carbon net zero for the emissions that it controls directly by 2040 and carbon net zero for emissions that it can influence by 2045.
In February 2025, NHS England updated its ‘Green plan guidance’, in which it identified encouraging patients to return used or expired inhalers to community pharmacies for appropriate disposal as a “key action” for reducing emissions.
Also in Feburary 2025, pharmacy chain Boots announced it was expanding its recycling scheme for medicines and vitamin blister packs in its branches.
