Sustainable chronic kidney disease management

Renal specialist nurse Gloria Munoz-Figueroa explains the principles of sustainable chronic kidney disease (CKD) care, including the importance of early diagnosis and enhanced risk-based management in primary care

Protecting kidney health has never been more urgent. Chronic kidney disease (CKD) affects over 850 million people worldwide and is projected to become the fifth leading cause of death by 2040.

In the UK alone, millions are living with CKD, placing a substantial and growing financial burden on the NHS – largely driven by the high cost of dialysis and kidney failure treatment.

At the same time, healthcare systems face increasing pressure from limited dialysis capacity and rising transplant waiting lists. Beyond clinical and economic challenges, kidney care also carries a considerable environmental footprint. These factors together highlight the critical need for a shift toward earlier detection, prevention, and more sustainable, patient-centred approaches.

This module will describe the principles behind the sustainable CKD model and the important role of nurses in primary care to ensure early identification and enhanced risk-based management to help delay CKD progression.

Learning objectives

This module will inform your understanding of sustainable approaches to CKD care, including how to:

• Understand kidney health through a sustainable care lens, recognising how biological, social, environmental and commercial determinants influence chronic kidney disease (CKD) outcomes.
• Describe the global and UK epidemiology of CKD, including the implications of rising prevalence, health inequalities, dialysis capacity constraints and the carbon footprint of kidney care.
• Use appropriate screening and coding strategies in primary care, including KDIGO C-G-A classification and colour-coded risk visualisation, to support early identification and equitable care.
• Differentiate between CKD staging and risk prediction, understanding use of the Kidney Failure Risk Equation (KFRE) to better inform personalised care, referral timing and sustainable service planning.
• Integrate comprehensive lifestyle medicine interventions, addressing all pillars – nutrition, physical activity, substance use, stress, sleep and social connection – as core components of kidney and cardiometabolic risk reduction.
• Appreciate the sustainability and climate-resilience benefits of early intervention, including reduced dialysis dependence, lower emergency admissions and decreased carbon emissions associated with kidney care.

Author: Gloria Munoz-Figueroa is a nurse kidney specialist with an MSc in Global Health and Social Justice from King’s College London. She is the current Co-Chair of the UK Kidney Association Sustainable Kidney Care committee

Date published: 23.04.2026