Supporting the environmental physio agenda

Over recent decades, people globally have increasingly become conscious of accelerating climate change, biodiversity loss, and other large-scale environmental degradation. 

In tandem with mounting social challenges, including wars, conflict, forced displacement, and rampant inequity, today’s environmental emergencies are recognised as the biggest threat to health in the 21st century. 

Paradoxically, healthcare systems and services contribute to these eco-social challenges in different ways, leaving us with the urgent, twofold imperative to reduce healthcare’s environmental footprint and contribute to broader mitigation and adaptation initiatives.

There has been an exponential surge of corresponding activity focussed on understanding and acting on these eco-social challenges. 

The UN Sustainable Development Goals represent the largest international coalition aimed at ensuring a healthy and liveable future for present and future generations. This is matched across all healthcare professions, through initiatives seeking to address health, environment, and society in an integrated manner. 

In the physiotherapy profession, the Environmental Physiotherapy Association has been leading this charge, advancing relevant research, practice, and education.

A central initiative has been the Environmental Physiotherapy (EPT) Agenda - the largest international collaboration advancing planetary health, environmental, and sustainability education in physiotherapy training. 

Continuously expanding, the EPT Agenda unites nearly 100 participating physiotherapy education institutions and 40 supporting organisations in these efforts. Following the CSP’s declaration on sustainability and collaboration in the NHS Greener Allied Health Professions activities, the CSP’s support of the EPT Agenda signals a clear, long-term commitment to sustainability and a new era in physiotherapy education and practice in the UK. This is one in which learning about and acting on eco-social challenges will be an integral part of being a physiotherapist and our roles and responsibilities in ensuring the health of people and planet alike.