Read the In Vivo article here.
Pharma companies view clinical trials as playing a big part towards achieving the overriding goal of improving patients’ health. But of late, there has been a collective rise in awareness that our work often has an environmental impact that we can help mitigate. Reducing the climate impact of clinical research must begin with gaining a better understanding of the current scope of the problem. One approach is to identify the “hot spots,” or major drivers of emissions within the clinical research process, and quantify those emissions to set measurable, attainable goals toward reducing climate impact. To achieve this, we are collaboratively mapping the climate footprint of clinical research via an “activity-based approach” – one in which we treat each clinical trial activity as a defined module with measurable emissions. As we begin to build out and reference this defined inventory of activities – the modules – we can add the emissions of each module to generate an overall estimate for the emissions from that study design.
Jason LaRoche, clinical research sustainability lead at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine said, “This is an excellent proof point to the great work this team is doing to mitigate the climate footprint of clinical research and create a better, healthier future for all.” Fiona Adshead, Chair of the SHC said, “We look forward to collaborating with Johnson and Johnson and our other collaborators from industry and academic clinical trials centres as we progress in our joint effort to address the significant environmental impacts of clinical trials.”
You can find out more about our work on clinical trials here.
About the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition
The SHC is a healthcare sector-led group which looks for the greatest opportunities to inspire sustainable practices in healthcare through the collaboration of its members across private and public sectors. Action-focused; our core principle is that net zero sustainability challenges are most effectively addressed by collaborating across the system. The group is powerful because it allows open conversations between committed organisations to explore the possibility of change in a safe space and, by focusing on tangible sustainability problems, it has driven innovation and led to practical action through testing and learning across the system.