Encouraging active, sustainable and low-carbon travel to improve health outcomes and support our Net Zero ambitions.
Overview
As the NHS looks to shift from hospitals to neighbourhood healthcare, Kent Community Health NHS Foundation Trust (KCHFT) and Medway Community Healthcare (MCH) will need to take a lead as community organisations. This will, however, increase our footprint in the community, subsequently increasing our travel, and challenging our progress to net-zero.
More than 55 per cent of KCHFT’s NHS-CF emissions can be attributed to business mileage, and both KCHFT and MCH have internal fleets which need to be transitioned to zero emission vehicles. Consequently, without action on travel and transport, neither organisation will be able to achieve net-zero by 2040.
KCHFT’s Green Plan was published in 2025 and outlines 16 transport related targets which align the organisations with the NHS Net Zero Travel Transport Strategy (NZTTS) (Figure 1); they can be found online here: Green Plan 2025–28. The Travel Plan for KCHFT and MCH aligns with these frameworks and associated targets, and will offer a clear action plan for the organisations to achieve their goals.
NHS net zero commitment
2024
New national specifications for zero emission ambulances will be published.
2026
- sustainable travel strategies will be developed and incorporated into NHS organisations’ Green Plans
- all vehicles offered through NHS vehicle salary sacrifice schemes will be electric.
2027
All new vehicles owned or leased by the NHS will be zero emission, excluding ambulances.
2030
All new ambulances will be zero emission.
2033
Increased uptake of active travel, public and shared transport, and zero emission vehicles will reduce staff commuting emissions by 50 per cent.
2035
- all vehicles owned or leased by the NHS will be zero emission, excluding ambulances
- all non-emergency patient transport will be undertaken in zero emission vehicles.
2036
More than 50 per cent of the ambulance fleet will be zero emission.
2040
The full fleet will be decarbonised.
- all owned, leased and commissioned vehicles will be zero emission
- all business travel will be zero emission.
2045
NHS net zero carbon footprint plus target
Subject to complete decarbonisation of the electricity grid, in line with government policy.
Our goals
Build an Electric Vehicle (EV) ready estate
To support the transition to low and zero emission travel, we need an estate that is ready for electric vehicles and future transport technologies. This means ensuring our sites have the right charging infrastructure, electrical capacity, parking arrangements and operational processes to enable staff, fleet vehicles, partners and visitors to charge where appropriate. Building an EV ready estate will reduce barriers to adopting electric vehicles, support the decarbonisation of business travel and fleet operations, and help ensure our buildings and sites are aligned with the organisation’s wider net-zero ambitions.
Transition our fleets to zero emission
Our fleet is a visible and operationally important part of how we deliver services, but it also contributes to our travel-related carbon emissions. Transitioning our vehicles to zero emission alternatives is essential to reduce environmental impact, improve air quality and demonstrate leadership in sustainable healthcare delivery. This goal will require careful planning around vehicle replacement cycles, service requirements, charging access, cost, range and operational resilience, ensuring that the shift to zero emission vehicles supports both patient care and carbon reduction.
Facilitate active travel
Active travel, such as walking and cycling plays an important role in reducing emissions from short journeys while also supporting staff wellbeing, health and local air quality. Facilitating active travel means creating the conditions that make it easier, safer and more attractive for staff and visitors to choose sustainable modes where practical. This includes improving access to secure cycle storage, changing facilities, route information, staff engagement and connections with public transport. By enabling more active travel, we can reduce reliance on private car journeys, support healthier lifestyles and contribute to our net zero travel plan objectives.
Going forward
Going forward, as the two organisations come together as one, we have a significant opportunity to embed sustainable travel at the heart of how we deliver healthcare across Kent and Medway. By implementing the objectives of the net zero travel plan — building an EV ready estate, transitioning our fleets to zero emission vehicles, and facilitating active travel — we will create a joined-up, consistent approach that supports our staff, patients, visitors and communities to travel in cleaner, healthier and more sustainable ways. This will require collaboration across estates, fleet, procurement, digital, workforce and clinical services to ensure that travel decisions are planned around service need, carbon reduction, accessibility and value for money. As a single organisation, we can share best practice, align investment, strengthen partnerships and accelerate progress, helping to reduce emissions, improve local air quality and demonstrate leadership in sustainable healthcare travel for Kent and Medway.