Sustainable Nursing: A Practical Guide for Nurses and Midwives to Lead in Protecting the Planet

Today’s nurses and midwives are nearly 30 million strong across the globe, and are in a unique position of influence to limit the impact of climate change and positively affect the future of our planet.

Sustainable Nursing is a first-of-its-kind, expertly written text that equips nurses and midwives to understand the public health impact of climate change and provides the tools needed to actively lead change across health systems.

It offers a robust call to action as part of core reading material for both students and healthcare professionals who need a focused, authoritative resource on sustainability.

• Discusses the why, what, and how of sustainability, climate change and planetary health—from the evidence-rich rationale through practical frameworks for action
• Addresses key topics such as planetary health, health equity and climate justice, net zero healthcare, climate literacy for clinicians, nature-based health interventions, biodiversity and health, prevention and population health, triple bottom line decision making, and more
• Provides detailed, shareable data for frontline professionals regarding the health impacts of climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution
• Describes nursing and midwifery’s longstanding environmental and public health roots.

• Offers practical, actionable steps for sustainable clinical practice, lower-carbon care delivery, green and social prescribing, and much more
• Explores implementation through Sustainability in Quality Improvement (SusQI), providing case studies and replicable examples
• Provides a global perspective with case studies from both high-income and low- and middle-income settings; links to Lancet Countdown insights; and comparative approaches to resilience, adaptation, and mitigation
• Covers research design, policy development, and nurses and midwives as strategic influencers, as well as leadership, movement building, and collective action
• Meets the needs of nursing and midwifery programs and curricula that feature sustainability as a core element