Discover how physiotherapists can lead the way in sustainable healthcare. Take our free assessment here.
Understanding These Sample Results
This example reflects typical priorities for physiotherapy practices, but your unique clinic, patient base, or operational style may influence your sustainability plan. For customised recommendations that fit your clinic’s size, services, and goals, take our quick materiality assessment quiz. You’ll receive a tailored action plan designed to help you reduce environmental impact, improve patient care, and strengthen your reputation as a responsible healthcare provider.
How We Identify Key Impact Areas
Our assessment tool evaluates seven physiotherapy-specific sustainability pillars:
View the sample report below to explore them all in detail.
Using double materiality principles, we analyse both how sustainability issues affect your clinic’s operational costs and reputation (such as patient expectations for eco-friendly care or regulatory requirements) and how your operations impact the environment and community (like reducing carbon emissions or diverting waste from landfill). For most physiotherapy practices, Operational Waste and Energy & Climate are top priorities, reflecting the sector’s potential for waste generation and energy use.
Your Custom Sustainability Roadmap
This sample roadmap focuses on high-impact, achievable steps, starting strong with 3 quick wins:
Build Momentum: Targeted Strategies
Each priority area includes expert-backed solutions like:
Track & Share Progress Effectively
We emphasise transparent reporting frameworks and industry certifications to help you:
Ready to move beyond generic advice? Take our free assessment to receive a roadmap addressing your clinic’s unique challenges.
We've estimated your sustainability priorities based on your answers. For a precise evaluation, it would be best to speak to an expert.
There's a lot to consider, but to maximise your efforts here are 3 high impact actions to start with.
Switch to renewable energy by installing solar panels if possible or purchasing renewable-powered electricity. This is one of the most significant changes you can make to reduce your carbon footprint and will also reduce your costs in the long run.
Implement comprehensive waste segregation to divert and recycle as much waste as possible. Proper waste management reduces disposal costs, including over-use of costly clinical streams, and minimises environmental impact.
Optimise efficiency of large equipment by switching on power-saving features and replacing outdated machines. Efficient medical equipment reduces energy use, cuts operating costs, and often provides better performance for patient care.
Managing energy use and emissions in healthcare settings. Efficient energy use reduces operating costs, cuts carbon emissions, and creates a more comfortable healing environment.
Switch to renewable energy by installing solar panels if possible or purchasing renewable-powered electricity. This is one of the most significant changes you can make to reduce your carbon footprint and will also reduce your costs in the long run.
Optimise efficiency of large equipment by switching on power-saving features and replacing outdated machines. Efficient medical equipment reduces energy use, cuts operating costs, and often provides better performance for patient care.
Replace gas systems such as water heaters, interior heating, and steam with electric options. These cleaner technologies reduce emissions, future-proof your operations against rising fuel prices, and align your practice with sustainability goals.
Upgrade lighting, HVAC systems and building insulation for maximum efficiency. Smart energy management cuts utility bills, improves comfort for patients and staff, and reduces your carbon footprint.
Supporting the physical and mental health of healthcare workers. Caring for caregivers reduces burnout, improves retention, and ultimately leads to better patient outcomes.
Offer mental health resources, flexible schedules, and relaxation spaces as well as career development pathways and incentives to retain skilled staff. Prioritising the wellbeing of your team reduces burnout, improves retention, and ultimately leads to better patient care.
Implement comprehensive health and safety practices to protect your staff from harm. Strong safety protocols and culture protect your team, avoid legal risks, and create a more productive environment.
Foster an environment where employees feel valued, supported, listened to and empowered. A positive culture, inclusion of diversity, employee consultation and mental health protections boost morale, reduce turnover and attract top talent.
Align your practices with ILO International Labour Standards while ensuring you meet all local labour laws and industry agreements. Meeting these standards protects your workers' rights and protects your business against legal and reputational issues.
Create comprehensive policies that establish clear standards and expectations of employees and business partners. Well-crafted policies reduce risk to your business by ensuring staff alignment and also enable you to articulate business commitments to new starters and stakeholders.
Managing waste streams unique to healthcare environments. Proper waste handling ensures compliance, reduces costs, and minimises the environmental impact of providing care.
Implement comprehensive waste segregation to divert and recycle as much waste as possible. Proper waste management reduces disposal costs, including over-use of costly clinical streams, and minimises environmental impact.
Implement reusable options for appropriate medical supplies, including textiles, sharps containers, cleaning supplies and sanitiseable tools. Reusable products can be just as safe and effective as disposables and not only cut waste but also reduce costs over time.
Implement strategies to reduce food waste and compost what's left. Avoiding food waste not only cuts costs and diverts waste from landfills but also reduces your carbon footprint due to the high impact of methane.
Transition to digital systems for patient records and billing. Electronic systems cut paper waste, improve efficiency, reduce errors, and often enhance the patient experience.
Optimising water use throughout your healthcare facility. Efficient water practices reduce utility costs, conserve resources, and maintain the high standards healthcare requires.
Install water-saving fixtures throughout your facility. Efficient plumbing reduces water bills, conserves a precious resource, and often provides a quick return on investment.
Install efficient machines and use cold water when possible. Modern laundry equipment saves energy, water, and money while still providing the high level of cleanliness healthcare demands.
Switch to detergents compatible with greywater systems. Greywater-safe products maintain high cleaning standards while allowing for water reuse and reducing environmental impact.
Selecting sustainable and responsible healthcare products. Your purchasing choices affect patient care, environmental impact, and the ethical footprint of your practice.
Establish minimum sustainability standards for your purchasing decisions, such as fair labour and low waste. Responsible procurement ensures a healthy future for all those affected in the making of medical supplies.
Switch to non-toxic, low-water and low-waste cleaning products and methods, it works just as effectively while also protecting staff and customer health while reducing environmental impact.
Select eco-friendly packaging for health services. Reduce waste and ensure responsible disposal to support patient care and the environment.
Choose more sustainable options and packaging for products for resale such as supplements and personal care items. Better packaging reduces waste and demonstrates your commitment to sustainability.
Ensuring your healthcare practice operates with integrity and transparency. Strong governance protects patients, builds trust, and safeguards your practice's reputation.
Implement rigorous measures to protect sensitive information. Strong cybersecurity measures protect patients, maintain trust, and ensure compliance with healthcare regulations.
Maintain transparency in pricing and billing and avoid unnecessary procedures. Prioritising the welfare and rights of your patients builds trust and aligns with the core values of healthcare.
Offer flexible payment options and community programs where possible. Improving access helps fulfill your mission of care while supporting a healthy local community.
Collect data on your environmental and social footprint. Tracking performance helps identify opportunities for improvement and demonstrate progress to stakeholders.
Develop a sustainability strategy that identifies your specific environmental and social priority areas with clear targets and an action plan to achieve them. A focused roadmap aligns your team and drives meaningful change.
Report on your sustainability commitments and progress honestly and transparently, and aligned with best practice frameworks. Sharing both the good and the bad builds trust with customers, staff, and stakeholders while showcasing your efforts.
Pursue certifications that validate your sustainability efforts in your operations. Achieving recognised standards demonstrates leadership, builds trust with patients, and attracts aligned partners.
Support local community causes and environmental initiatives that are relevant to your business or stakeholders. Giving back to people and planet builds goodwill, strengthens ties and demonstrates your values in action.
A materiality assessment is a process for physiotherapy practices to identify and prioritise the most important ESG issues, such as energy use, waste management, and patient data security.
Physiotherapy practices benefit from a materiality assessment by focusing on issues like reducing energy and water use, minimising waste, and ensuring patient privacy, which can improve efficiency, patient trust, and compliance.
The process involves engaging stakeholders, analysing business impacts, and ranking issues by importance. For physiotherapy practices, this might include assessing clinic operations, supply chain ethics, and governance practices.
Best practice is to update your materiality assessment annually, or when there are significant changes in your business, regulations, or stakeholder expectations.
Begin by taking our industry-specific materiality assessment quiz. This will help you identify your top priorities and create a customised action plan for sustainability.