Season 3 Episode 11: Sustainable Healthcare – Creating a Net Zero NHS

Impulse To Innovation

Despite the all-consuming mission of the global healthcare sector to ‘do no harm’ and protect society from illness, disease, and death it is, according to NGO ‘Health Care Without Harm’, the fifth largest emitter of global emissions on the planet.

Indeed, healthcare’s climate footprint is estimated to be 4.4% of global net emissions; that’s equivalent to the output from 514 coal fired power stations, making it comparable in significance to the food sector in terms of climate impact. It seems ludicrous to think that the act of caring for those suffering from health conditions brought about by climate change, is partially responsible for their condition in the first place.

It is quite clear then, that the healthcare sector, both clinical and technological, must address their alarming contribution to the climate crisis. A two-pronged approach is needed, one which treats those made ill, injured, or dying from the climate crisis, and the second which drastically reduces its own innate contribution.

Many of the leading global healthcare companies and health service providers are already implementing sweeping changes and here in the UK the National Health Service (NHS) is leading the way. The paradox for the NHS is that while it accounts for around 5% of the country’s carbon emissions it also provides over 7% of the UK’s GDP, buying in goods and services from over 930 suppliers. Recognising its responsibility, In 2020 the NHS became the first national health system in the world to commit to delivering a net zero service by 2040 through its ‘Greener NHS’ initiative.

To achieve this, it will not only have to change the way it cares for patients across the hospital network; by opting to use more sustainable methods of treatment, but it will have to radically transform the way it selects and uses products and services, driving change across its entire supply chain network. The NHS believes that reaching the Paris Climate Change Agreement could see over 5,700 lives saved from improved air quality, 38,000 lives saved from a more physically active population and over 100,000 lives saved from healthier diets, each year.

The NHS and other global healthcare organisations cannot make these changes alone. Engineering will and is playing a significant role in improving care provision and in developing the technology that clinicians use. It is then, engineering that will drive the development and adoption of sustainable and green technology alternatives for the healthcare sector going forward.

In this month's episode Helen speaks to Dr Nick Watts Chief Sustainability Officer of the NHS, who knows just how critical tackling the NHS’ sustainability issues are and what it’s responsibility is to addressing the climate crisis.

Nick is responsible for the NHS’s commitment to deliver a world-class net zero emission health service. He leads the ‘Greener NHS team’ across the UK, which focuses on improving the health of patients and the public through a robust and accelerated response to climate change and broader sustainability agenda.Nick is a medical doctor licensed in Australia and the UK, and has trained in population health and public policy. He is a Member of the Royal College of Physicians’ Faculty of Public Health, and an Honorary Associate Professor of University College London’s Institute for Global Health.

Prior to the National Health Service, Nick worked internationally as the Executive Director of the Lancet Countdown and the Lancet Commission on Health and Climate Change, a collaboration of UN agencies and academic centres across the world. He has also focused on engaging the health profession on the links between public health and climate change, having founded both the Global Climate and Health Alliance and the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change.

Useful Links

Greener NHS

Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service

HEALTHCARE SOLUTIONS: ELEVATING THE ENGINEERING WORKFORCE