Nicola Groskops was recently appointed as NSLHD’s inaugural Planetary Health Manager to help lead the district towards net zero emissions by 2035.

The role involves the delivery and evaluation of the current NSLHD Planetary Health Framework 2021-2023 with the guidance of the NSLHD Planetary Health Committee, and working alongside the NSW Ministry of Health to achieve the 2035 target.

Nicola said she feels privileged to be taking on such an integral role and working with a team of colleagues who share like-minded goals and aspirations for planetary health.

“I feel privileged and excited to be taking on this new role,” she said. 

“It is fantastic to be working under Paul Klarenaar, Director Population and Planetary Health, and to be guided by Dr Kate Charlesworth, Medical Consultant Planetary Health, who is an inspiring leader in sustainability and planetary health for NSLHD and NSW Health more broadly.”

Speaking on some of the focus areas in the short term, Nicola said the district is focusing on the development of a baseline carbon footprint as well as commencing the NSLHD Net Zero Leads Program.

“The development of a baseline carbon footprint for the district will allow us to better understand our carbon emissions across all hospitals and services, and monitor reductions over time,” she said.

“Our soon-to-be-appointed net zero leads from medicine, nursing, pharmacy, and allied health disciplines, will lead teams of interested staff and students in their service or specialty and conduct action research projects to re-think and re-imagine their service with a net zero lens.

“Research shows that more than half of healthcare’s carbon footprint is from clinical care, and so it is critical that our staff are engaged in the development of high quality, low carbon models of care.”

For staff wanting to get involved in efforts to reduce emissions, Nicola said inroads can be made by simply having a conversation about some of the changes or improvements they would like to see with their teams or managers.

“I encourage staff to work together on quality improvement and innovation initiatives they can champion in their service or department that reduce carbon emissions and help achieve our net zero target,” she said.

For more information on NSLHD’s Planetary Health efforts click here.