On October 20^th 2021, the Health and Social Care Academy (a programme of the ALLIANCE) and Scottish Care held the final event of the ‘Climate and Social Care Collective’ roundtable series.

The roundtable was focused on short, medium and long term objectives as it relates to climate action in the social care sector to help determine where immediate priorities should lie and how we can most effectively share our set of principles and calls to action to share with stakeholders following COP26.

The event was chaired again by Scottish Care’s National Director, Karen Hedge, who set the scene and placed the discussions within the wider context of transformational change.

Our first speaker was Lukas Hardt, Policy and Engagement Lead from the Wellbeing Economy Alliance (WEAll Scotland). Lukas spoke about what social care means in a wellbeing economy and what social justice looks like on a healthy planet. A wellbeing economy is comprised of four main principles – purpose (what is the economy designed to do and whether it is fit for purpose), preventative (an economy designed to deliver things the first time round), pre-distribution (wages and income that reflects social value people bring to the economy) and people-powered (change built on meaningful participation and community-organising). He highlighted how social care serves important human needs; it is a sector with relatively low carbon intensity and creates [green] jobs yet doesn’t get the growth it should, related to its’ constant undervaluing. Reforming the economy is a climate action, as improving how people are valued in turn promotes a more equitable society.

Our second speaker was Allan Crooks, Programme Manager, Energy and Low Carbon Heat from Zero Waste Scotland. Allan discussed current regulation structures, policy outcomes in areas relevant to social care (such as transport, buildings, waste) and how they relate to circular economics, the need to offset residual emissions in the sector, and current outcome indicators. We must address people, places, kickstart investment with long term market and regulatory frameworks that provide economic opportunity to better support the sector. There are several government delivery programmes such as cash back projects and small and mid-size enterprise (SME) loans available as support mechanisms to help deliver Scotland as a low carbon country. More of this information can be found in Scottish Government’s Net Zero Strategy as well as in Zero Waste Scotland’s Support Services page.

During the Q and A session, panellists were asked about the cultural shift required to have a society where health, wellbeing and sustainability is better understood and valued, encouraging cross-sectoral buy-in to address such broad issues such as transport and energy, and how to make information more accessible when learning where you can make an impact.

Examples of knowledge sharing platforms included NHS portals where good projects and procurement sit. While there would be definite interest and buy-in from the sector to adapt examples from other sectors to social care, it raised questions about how to accomplish this when the sector requires other conditions be met, not least on issues of recruitment and retention, fair pay, and contracts.  We want to set achievable standards in a sector (where procurement is largely market driven) with cross-sector buy-in. It needs to be easier for the sector to incorporate sustainable practice without sole pressure on individuals.

In our breakout discussion groups, we asked attendees to comment on the set of principles, co-written by the ALLIANCE and Scottish Care, that we believe Scottish Government should adopt in order to develop actions that can concretely be taken to deliver social care in a changing climate. These included:

1. Human  rights and  equalities – Recognise that climate change is one of the greatest threats to human rights and guarantee a rights, intersectional and equality based approach for individuals who work in and receive care and support in a changing climate.
2. Person  centred – Ensure that the rights, needs and preferences of people receiving and delivering care are at the heart of discussions surrounding climate impacts and action. Individual choice must be central to policy, practice, and delivery.
3. Sustainable  and resourced - Investment in social care supports a greener, more sustainable sector. In turn, the sector must be well-resourced to ensure that any environmental commitment is underpinned across the sector.
4. Collective, joined up  and interconnected – Develop cross-sectoral, collective, and joined up approaches that enable meaningful, sustainable, and long-lasting change to take place with understanding that the social care sector does not sit in isolation.
5. Valuing care - Enable the highest potential of the social care workforce by supporting empowering and valuing the workforce for the distinct work they do. Prioritise investment in the workforce through improved salaries, upskilling and retaining talent and investing in their health and wellbeing.
6. Participation – Empower, recognise and value the voices of those delivering and receiving care in decision making processes

A narrative commonly heard is that individuals need to be more proactive in offsetting their carbon footprint or taking action to help reduce their environmental impact. While climate-conscious individual choices are important, it is not nearly enough. We need collective action at every scale – from local to national (to global) – because private individual actions don’t create change at a sufficient rate to affect the problem in a timely manner.

Radical and transformational change is required. Bridging the gap between principles, action and the changes that need to happen in the wider system will involve changes to law, policy and practice. As citizens, we are connected to social and political systems and within the sector we will continue to demonstrate how incorporating social care in the climate debate needs to be a priority.

More information about the development and purpose of the roundtables can be found in Hot Report 1 and details of the second event on innovation and solution in Hot Report 2

We are delighted to announce the finalists in the 2021 Care Home Awards. Thank you to all who submitted nominations and congratulations to all who have been shortlisted!

Winners will be announced at an evening Awards Ceremony, hosted by Michelle McManus and Dr Donald Macaskill. Please note that due to Covid-19, this event has been rescheduled from Friday 19 November 2021 to Friday 1 April 2022.  More information on the Awards Ceremony itself and tickets will be available shortly.

On September 15th 2021, The Health and Social Care Academy (a programme of the ALLIANCE) and Scottish Care held the second event of ‘The Climate and Social Care Collective’ roundtable series. More information about the development and purpose of the roundtables can be found in the first report.  

The second roundtable was focused on innovation and solution, with emphasis on taking a cross-sectoral approach. The event also explored people-centred solutions and a role of the community in supporting sustainable change. 

Our first speaker was Kenneth Watt, Policy and Public Affairs Manager for the Red Cross, leading work across the devolved nations covering health and independent living, refugee and asylum and emergency response. Kenneth spoke about the ‘Feeling the Heat’ briefing which discussed the impact of heat waves and climate change in the UK. The report evidences the increasing risk of heatwaves, explores public perceptions, and sets out solutions. The impact of heatwaves will be especially significant in terms of excess deaths, on older and more vulnerable people. Further, the overall impact on health services will exacerbate underlying health inequities. There is a significant role for community organisers and volunteers to take action as this sector feed into early warnings and getting information out to communities. Government recognition of the human impact of heatwaves, with coordination across sectors and levels. People must have access to targeted information that appropriately meets their needs.  

The second speaker was Christine Owen, Senior Manager with the People Powered Results (PPR) team, a Nesta Specialist Enterprise. The PPR team works with organisations and public systems to release the power of people closest to issues to adapt and take action in an increasingly complex world. Christine discussed place-based approaches to change, how to create the conditions for such change and how we might start to think about challenges differently through adapting, maintaining, and sustaining ourselves. This was demonstrated through a practical action programme ongoing with the Wales Council for Voluntary Action (WCVA) to deliver transformation focused on Covid recovery with community-led action to build a fairer, greener and healthier future as part of this recovery. Christine echoed Watt, emphasising the importance of collaboration as an instrument to effect change.  

The third speaker in the roundtable event was Bev Knight, Head of National Operations, with Redeem Exchange – a circular economy initiative introduced to divert plastic waste from landfill by reusing plastic hand sanitiser and soap bottles through a collect, wash, refill and return service. Bev highlighted the impact that people can have on the climate with simple methods. Potential solutions to a more sustainable future align with green jobs and a circular economy approach and discussed how the changes from this initiative support other vulnerable groups as well as the care sector. 

After the Q and A session, participants were split into smaller breakout groups to cover questions around key questions:  

1) if there was a £25 million social care climate innovation fund, what types of sustainable solutions would you like to see it used for?  

2) Which key stakeholders need to work together to take climate action? This may involve local authorities, those delivering and receiving care, health and social care partnerships, care providers, the business sector, transport and procurement. 

 3) Do you have any good practice examples (including from other sectors) that you would like to share which you think would be applicable to the social care sector? 

The breakout sessions fostered thoughtful conversation on the challenges and shortcomings with placing social care as a top priority alongside and within climate issues. Some of the recurring points that came up were on the biggest carbon emitters in the sector. While there is little data to evaluate the social care sector’s carbon footprint in Scotland, we know that the big areas of concern are around transport and energy – specifically heating.  

One of the areas that participants pointed out would be most useful would be to centralise information; this would allow people to access or contribute to showcasing measures that can be taken and the effectiveness of this would be useful for providers to understand where they can make a difference. Speakers mentioned there is a collective effort needed to implement change and pooling resources in this space would be helpful. 

There was recognition that the social care sector does not sit in isolation. Participants suggested joining up approaches to better understanding the role of regulators and inspectors, commissioning of services, of hospitals and health boards, and potential costs (both from action to inaction). It is important to join up data to understand how different industries connect and play a role in the delivery of care and support (more specifically laundry, food, agriculture, retail, PPE). There is a carbon cost to the delivery of care and these processes and costs must be balanced with a rights-based agenda. Many of the concerns circle back to the long-standing issue of insufficient funding available in the sector and the undervaluing of social care. Changing mindsets to focus on sustainability in the commissioning and procurement processes would be beneficial to implementing long-term change. 

We are looking forward to our final roundtable event taking place on Wednesday 20th October from 10:00- 12:00 which will look at key principles and calls to action developed as part of the series. We look forward to welcoming our panelists for the session and invite anyone interested in the subject to attend! Sign up here.