Sustainability at Circle Health Group

Our commitment to sustainability

Sustainability is a journey, and we are committed to continuous improvement. Through strong governance, evidence-based decision making, collaboration and innovation, Circle Health Group is working to create a future where healthcare supports both people and planet.

Our ambition is to become a low-carbon, climate-resilient healthcare provider and achieve net zero emissions across all scopes by 2040. To support this ambition, we have developed a comprehensive Net Zero Strategy which will guide our activities over the coming years.

Creating a healthier future

At Circle Health Group, caring for people goes beyond the treatment we provide today. We’re working to create a healthier future for our patients, colleagues, communities and the environment.

As the UK's largest independent provider of hospital services, we recognise that healthcare has an important role to play in addressing some of society's biggest challenges, including climate change, resource consumption and health inequalities. It’s why we put sustainability at the heart of delivering safe, high-quality healthcare now, and for future generations.

Our approach focuses on reducing environmental impact, improving the resilience of our hospitals, supporting our people and communities, and ensuring we operate responsibly in everything we do. Together, these actions help us build a healthcare system that is better for patients, better for society, and better for the planet.

Why sustainability matters at Circle Health Group

Sustainability is about ensuring we can continue to provide safe and high-quality patient care now and into the future. We are working to ensure our hospitals remain resilient in the face of increasing climate risks by preparing for changes in our climate, using our resources mindfully, reducing waste, making responsible purchasing decisions, and supporting healthier lifestyles and communities.

We believe sustainability creates opportunities as well as responsibilities. By embedding sustainable practice into our everyday decision making we will improve efficiency, reduce costs, drive innovation, enhance patient experience and create healthier places for people to work and receive care.

Our progress so far

2025 marked a significant milestone in Circle Health Group's sustainability journey.

We have established strong foundations that will help us accelerate progress towards a lower carbon, more resilient future. Sustainability governance is now embedded throughout the organisation, with clear oversight from our Board and executive leadership teams, supported by our national Sustainability Steering Committee.

We have also made substantial progress in reducing our environmental impact. Even with additional facilities and more patients than ever before we reduced our overall carbon emissions by 15%. These improvements reflect significant work across our estates, operations, clinical services and supply chain.

Across Circle Health Group we have:

• Installed 98% LED lighting coverage
• Reduced the use of high-carbon anaesthetic gases and expanded sustainable clinical practice initiatives
• Installed electric vehicle charging infrastructure at 26 hospital sites
• Introduced plant-first menus for all our inpatients
• Established Sustainability Champions at every site
• Developed a thriving Green Forum that brings colleagues together to share best practice and escalate innovation
• Strengthened sustainable procurement processes and increased engagement with major suppliers to address supply chain emissions

Alongside these achievements, we completed our first comprehensive climate risk assessment, identifying key risks such as extreme heat, flooding and severe weather, helping ensure that our hospitals remain resilient in a changing climate.

Supporting our people and communities

Sustainability is about more than carbon reduction. It is also about people.

We are committed to creating a workplace where colleagues can thrive, develop new skills and contribute to positive change. Through sustainability education programmes, apprenticeships[HL1.1], professional development opportunities and our national network of Sustainability Champions, colleagues across Circle Health Group are helping shape a more sustainable future for healthcare.

We also support the communities we serve through charitable giving, volunteering, community partnerships and social value initiatives. Our CHG in the Community programme enables colleagues to nominate local projects, charities, schools, sports clubs and community organisations for grants that make a real difference.

By investing in people, wellbeing and local communities, we aim to deliver positive outcomes that extend far beyond our hospitals.

Looking ahead

We are proud of the progress made so far but we recognise there is much more to do.

Our priorities include:

• Investing in energy efficiency improvements across our estate
• Collaborating with suppliers, healthcare partners and industry organisations to accelerate progress across the wider healthcare sector
• Increasing the use of renewable and low-carbon energy solutions.
• Continuing to reduce emissions from clinical practice, operations and procurement
• Strengthening climate adaptation and resilience planning across all facilities
• Supporting innovation and sustainable healthcare education for our workforce
• Together, these actions will help us continue delivering outstanding patient care while building a healthier, more sustainable future