The free-to-attend event, titled ‘Better Food, Lower Carbon: The Future of Healthcare Catering’, gathered senior figures from NHS England, hospital trusts and the wider foodservice sector to discuss how sustainable food practices can be integrated into daily healthcare operations.
Hosted by Catherine Farinha, author and publisher of The Healthcare Chefs’ Knowledge series, the session built on a programme of sustainability workshops delivered throughout 2025 and reflected the growing momentum across the NHS to position food as a key lever in achieving net zero targets.
Opening the webinar, Philip Shelley, senior operational manager and national lead for food at NHS England, highlighted the strategic role of food in achieving the NHS’s sustainability goals.
Shelley said: “Food is one of the most immediate and impactful opportunities we have to reduce carbon across the NHS. By empowering chefs, dietitians, and catering teams to work collaboratively, we can move from policy to practical action and deliver measurable outcomes that benefit both patients and the planet.”
The webinar demonstrated how healthcare organisations can move from high-level sustainability commitments to real operational changes, with a clear focus on measurable improvements, cross-department collaboration, and scalable best practices.
Sian Langford, healthcare sustainability leader at The Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital NHS Foundation Trust (RJAH), shared insights into how organisations could drive change from within.
She commented: “Embedding sustainability is not just about policy, it’s about people, culture, leadership and cross-department ownership. When teams are engaged and empowered, even small changes such as waste reduction and menu reformulation can deliver significant environmental and operational benefits.”
The session ended with a live panel discussion and Q&A, where attendees discussed key questions about scaling best practices across the NHS, prioritising investment, and supporting chefs and catering teams as frontline agents of change.
With the NHS committed to achieving net zero, the webinar marked a ‘significant step’ in aligning strategy with delivery, demonstrating how food could play a central role in building a more sustainable, resilient healthcare system.