Case Study team
Wales
With domiciliary care workers across the UK estimated to travel more than four million miles daily, this case will look at how the domiciliary care sector can align with Net Zero and a Just Transition and address competing priorities at a national scale.
You can read the full case study profile here.
Photo - Houses at Lake Vyrnwy, Oswestry, Wales (Photo by James Armes on Unsplash)
Case Study introduction and background
Climate change adds another dimension to these challenges. On the one hand, changing environmental conditions are likely to affect people's health, wellbeing, and care needs, as well as the circumstances under which care is delivered. On the other hand, the delivery of care itself generates carbon emissions. In domiciliary care, these emissions arise primarily through travel between visits, as well as the use of energy, equipment, and consumable products.
Despite growing interest in decarbonisation across public services, relatively little is known about how social care can reduce its environmental impact while maintaining or improving outcomes for care workers, people who draw on care and support, providers, and local communities.
Focusing on domiciliary care in Wales, this case study explores how lower-carbon models of care can be developed and implemented in ways that are environmentally sustainable, socially just, and operationally effective.
Key issues and systematic interventions proposed
At the same time, the sector faces longstanding workforce and service-delivery challenges. Low pay, recruitment and retention difficulties, increasing demand associated with population ageing, and pressures on care quality all affect the sustainability of domiciliary care services. Efforts to reduce carbon emissions must therefore consider their implications for care quality, workforce wellbeing, service accessibility, and organisational viability.
A central concern of this case study is how decarbonisation can be achieved without shifting additional costs or burdens onto care workers, care recipients, providers, or communities. The study therefore adopts a systems perspective, recognising the interconnections between environmental sustainability, workforce sustainability, and care outcomes.
Current progress
The first phase of the research involves mapping the Welsh domiciliary care system, including the organisations, stakeholders, and wider structures that shape service delivery. Alongside this work, the research team is engaging with providers, commissioners, policymakers, workforce representatives, and other stakeholders to understand current approaches to decarbonisation, identify barriers and opportunities, and explore potential pathways towards lower-carbon models of care.
The findings will contribute to the wider JUST-Systems programme by identifying practical approaches to reducing emissions while supporting workforce sustainability, maintaining care quality, and promoting positive outcomes for communities across Wales.
