Resources

Publications

Events

Case Studies

External Resources

Publications

Sustainable Healthcare Coalition launches Patient Care Pathway Consortium

Jul 22, 2026

The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition (SHC) has launched the Patient Care Pathway (PCP) Consortium, a cross-sector collaboration focused on addressing one of sustainable healthcare’s most significant challenges: understanding and measuring the environmental impact of...

Decarbonising Clinical Trials at Novartis

Jul 13, 2026

Decarbonising Clinical Trials at Novartis How targeted interventions in logistics, design, and operations are reducing the carbon footprint and operational efficiency of global clinical research See here: Document download Executive Summary Novartis has embedded...

Driving Sustainable Healthcare Practices Forward

Apr 29, 2025

As the year gathers pace, the healthcare sector faces unprecedented challenges on its journey towards sustainabilityand the need for practical action has never been more urgent. What can we learn from our previous achievements to enable us to remain steadfast in our...

New Resource to Help Clinical Trials Reduce their Carbon Footprint

Feb 18, 2025

New Resource to Help Clinical Trials Reduce their Carbon Footprint Free online knowledge hub and tool launches today, making it easier to measure the environmental footprint of clinical trials 19th February 2025, UKAn analysis reveals the substantial carbon footprint...

Building environmental considerations into the evaluation of health interventions

Feb 11, 2025

The past decade has seen encouraging commitments from health system leaders, professional societies and industry to identifying environmentally sustainable practices that can be built into the future of healthcare. Making these commitments a reality will require...

Partner Engagement Meeting Archive

Feb 11, 2025

Partner Engagement Meeting The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition engagement meetings are virtual events held twice a year. They allow us to hear from thought leaders and our partners about their initiatives and to share developments from the Coalition. A broad range of...

Learnings from the Green Surgery Webinar

Feb 4, 2025

In collaboration with The Association of British HealthTech Industries, we hosted a webinar to discuss the findings of the Green Surgery Report and explore the role of the supply chain and procurement industry in advancing the agenda for decarbonisation and...

Balancing Sustainability and Access: The Future of Off-Patent Medicines

Dec 12, 2024

The off-patent medicines industry is a cornerstone of European healthcare, accounting for 70% of medicines dispensed in Europe. These drugs treat a range of severe conditions, including cancer, respiratory diseases, and autoimmune disorders, forming an essential part...

Royal College of Physicians Green Physician Toolkit: what can be learnt from listening to the public and patients

Sep 9, 2024

The Royal College of Physicians published a Green Physician Toolkit with the aim of supporting physicians to take action on climate change. Its publication was met with a backlash in some media, including reports that implementing such recommendations could compromise...

Decarbonisation of CKD treatment in the UAE

Dec 1, 2023

Decarbonisation of CKD treatment in the UAE. A discussion paper. It is recognised that global health and care systems are undergoing transformative change to adapt to the needs of patients and communities, with increasing pressure to be financially, socially and...

The E in ESG: Activity-Based Strategies Can Address Climate Impact Of Clinical Research

Oct 6, 2023

A partnership approach is required to reduce greenhouse gas emissions generated by pharma clinical studies. That is the advice in a guest contribution by the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition and Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine (formerly Janssen...

First, do no harm

Dec 8, 2022

A comment paper published in the December 2022 issue of Lancet Plantetary Health makes the case that it is time for a systems approach to address the problem of healthcare-derived pharmaceutical pollution. Chemical pollution is considered one of the nine planetary...

Environmental Impacts of Seasonal Influenza: A Case Study

Nov 14, 2022

Vaccination programmes are used to prevent the transmission of flu, and to reduce the cases and severity of flu in the population, which in turn reduces the burden on healthcare services. Sustainable Healthcare Coalition member, AstraZeneca conducted a care pathway...

SMP Founding Collaborators Announced

Oct 4, 2022

The Sustainable Medicines Partnership (SMP), an important collaborative initiative led by YewMaker announced the 42 founding collaborators today, 4th October 2022. The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition has joined the other founder collaborators, including pharma,...

In-Centre Haemodialysis at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospital

Jun 10, 2022

In June 2019, Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (NUTH) became the first healthcare organisation in the world to declare a Climate Emergency, recognising that a climate emergency is also a health emergency, and committed to becoming a net-zero carbon...

Sustainable Healthcare Coalition welcomes Bupa to join its collaboration for better human and planetary health

May 16, 2022

We are excited that leading international healthcare company, Bupa has joined the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition (SHC). Health insurance is at the core of Bupa’s business in addition to which it provides healthcare provision through its hospitals, health clinics,...

The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition joins the Sustainable Medicines Partnership

Mar 22, 2022

The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition is proud to announce that it has joined the Sustainable Medicines Partnership, an important new initiative, led by YewMaker. In its collaboration with the SMP, a not-for-profit private-public collaboration, the Sustainable...

New resource to help GP practices reduce their carbon footprint

Nov 24, 2021

The climate crisis is a health crisis and we all have a role to play in tackling the emergency, including primary care. GP surgeries are expected to start measuring and reducing emissions in line with the NHS’s net zero ambition, but until now there has been little...

Energize, a programme to increase access to renewable energy for pharmaceutical supply chains, launches at COP26

Nov 8, 2021

10 Global pharmaceutical companies came together on Energy Day at COP26, to launch Energize: a programme to engage the pharmaceutical supply chain in bold climate action and decarbonisation. Energize is a first-of-its kind effort to leverage the scale of a single...

The Carbon Impact of Biotech and Pharma: A Roadmap to 1.5°C

Nov 8, 2021

A new report presents a picture of the carbon impact of the global biotechnology and pharmaceutical industry, giving an important assessment of the magnitude of the carbon impact, placing it in the context of other carbon intensive industries and identifying key...

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External Resources

What is the carbon footprint of academic clinical trials? A study of hotspots in 10 trials

Clinical trials are fundamental to healthcare, however, they also contribute to anthropogenic climate change. Following previous work to develop and test a method and guidance to calculate the carbon footprint of clinical trials, we have now applied the guidance to 10 further UK and international, academically sponsored clinical trials to continue the identification of hotspots and
opportunities for lower carbon trial design.

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7th Annual SCOPE Europe: Summit for Clinical Ops Executives

This workshop discussed the current hotspots of carbon emissions in clinical research, presented a carbon footprint calculator for assessing the current state of clinical trials, and suggested introductory reduction strategies.

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CleanMed Europe 2021

At this event, the SHC’s session explored lessons learned from the coronavirus pandemic and climate change, and identified opportunities to accelerate future change.

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The Green Surgery Challenge 2021

The Green Surgery Challenge provided an opportunity for the UK’s surgical to work to find solutions that transform surgical practice to become less harmful to the environment and build social sustainability.

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The Green Surgery Conference

The SHC, in collaboration with partners, announced the Green Surgery Conference, which showcased five surgical teams that have taken sustainable surgical care on board.

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The Current State of Sustainable Procurement

An investigation into the current state of sustainable procurement of pharmaceuticals and medical devices by Action Sustainability.

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A perspective on environmental sustainability assessments in the healthcare sector

A new paper on the challenges and recommendations for environmental sustainability assessments in the healthcare sector has been published.

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Dry Powdered Inhalers

A new case study considers the environmental impacts of poor control and improved control of paediatric asthma by use of intelligent digitally connected Dry Powdered Inhalers.

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Six steps to promote recovery of the health and social care system from the Covid-19 pandemic

In a recently published paper jointly written by the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition and other organisations, the BMJ outlines six steps to promote the recovery of the health and social care system from the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Case study highlights patient and environmental benefits of Johnson & Johnson’s Care4Today® Total Knee Replacement Care Pathway programme

A new case study from Johnson & Johnson demonstrates the value of assessing care pathways with an environmental impact lens.

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Decarbonisation of Chronic Kidney Disease Treatment in the UAE

In this discussion paper, we look at how early treatment of chronic kidney disease treatment (CKD) can reduce greenhouse gas impact by reducing the need for intensive primary and secondary care.

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A manifesto for global sustainable health

A manifesto has been produced that attempts to summarise the thoughts explored by the Sustainable Health Symposium that was held in Cambridge in July, 2017 and sponsored by the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition.

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Environmental Impact of PlGF-based testing for pre-eclampsia

A new study has been released on the environmental impact of PlGF-based testing for pre-eclampsia.

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Royal College of Physicians Green Physician Toolkit: what can be learned from listening to the public and patients

With this recently published Green Physician Toolkit, this publication takes a look at what can be learnt from listening to the public and patients about raising awareness on the health impacts of climate change.

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Case Studies

Decarbonising Clinical Trials at Novartis

Environmental Impact of Outpatient Parenteral Antimicrobial Therapy

This case study from Sustainable Healthcare Coalition member, Baxter Healthcare Limited assesses the care pathway impacts of four different scenarios for intravenous antimicrobial therapy administration, including delivery to inpatients and three Outpatient Parenteral...

An environmental impact assessment of Total Hip Arthroplasty (THA) surgery

It is recognised that health and care systems are undergoing transformative global change to adapt to the needs of patients and communities, with increasing pressure to be financially, socially and environmentally sustainable. Appraising the sustainability of care...

Appraisal of Environmental Impact of Hospital Activities at ULS de Braga, Portugal

Appraisal of Environmental Impact of Hospital Activities at ULS Matosinhos, Portugal

Waste Benefits of a Reusable IoL Inserter in Cataract Surgery

Cataract surgery holds the title of the most frequently conducted surgical procedure globally. In the UK alone, Optegra – a provider of eye healthcare for the NHS – performs an average of 25 cataract surgeries per surgeon daily at each of their ~19 sites. This high...

Greener Maternity Care

Guidance on how to produce a carbon footprint of maternity services Maternity Care and Climate Change Maternity services are one of the NHS’s high-volume services, with over 673,000 births in the UK in 2022. Each of these will have been preceded by approximately 30...

Reducing the environmental impact of chronic kidney disease care

Globally, it is recognised that health and care systems are undergoing transformative change to adapt to the needs of patients and communities, with increasing pressure to be financially, socially and environmentally sustainable. Appraising the sustainability of care...

In-Centre Haemodialysis at Newcastle upon Tyne Hospital

Environmental Impact of PlGF-based testing for pre-eclampsia

The availability of quick, accurate blood tests that can help rule out pre-eclampsia (PE) is improving care for pregnant women and their unborn babies, reducing anxiety and saving the NHS money. The Oxford Academic Science Network, who have been championing the use of...

Care pathway for Monoclonal Antibody Therapy

Care pathway for Monoclonal Antibody Therapy of Severe Eosinophilic Asthma The use of Monoclonal Antibody (Mab) therapy is relatively new and evolving, but promises to revolutionise the management of asthma. This study by AstraZeneca has demonstrated the value of...

Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Carbon Footprinting Standard

Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Carbon Footprinting Standard The founding project of the coalition was to develop a greenhouse gas (GHG) accounting guidance document for the pharmaceutical and medical device sector. This research was initiated from the GHG appraisal...

Environmental impacts of poor control and improved control of paediatric asthma by use of intelligent digitally-connected Dry Powdered Inhalers (DPI)

Environmental impacts of poor control and improved control of paediatric asthma by use of intelligent digitally-connected Dry Powdered Inhalers (DPI) The use of digital technology in asthma treatment is relatively new and is still evolving. It promises to...

Sustainability of Type 2 Diabetes Management

Sustainability of Type 2 Diabetes Management Novo Nordisk applied the sustainable care pathways guidance to develop a case study on the management of type 2 diabetes. Combining health economics data with environmental impact data available in the guidance it was...

Environmental Impact and Benefits of Care4Today Total Knee Replacement Care Pathway

Environmental Impact and Benefits of Care4Today Total Knee Replacement Care Pathway This new case study from Johnson & Johnson demonstrates the value of assessing care pathways with an environmental impact lens. It reinforces value-based healthcare, in that...

Six steps to promote recovery of the health and social care system from the covid-19 pandemic

The BMJ has published a paper jointly written by the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition, UK Healthcare Alliance on Climate Change , Centre for Sustainable Healthcare, Healthcare without Harm Europe and the grassrooots group, Health Declares Climate and Ecological...

Healthcare, Circular Economy Principles And Sustainable Wellbeing

Global expenditure on healthcare represented close to 10% of GDP in 2015, a proportion that is anticipated to grow because of increasing access to healthcare, as a consequence of an ageing global population and the higher demands placed on healthcare services as we...

Case study highlights patient and environmental benefits of Johnson & Johnson’s Care4Today® Total Knee Replacement Care Pathway programme

This new case study from Johnson & Johnson demonstrates the value of assessing care pathways with an environmental impact lens. It reinforces value-based healthcare, in that improved health outcomes following knee replacement surgery using Care4Today®, a digital...

SECOND CONFERENCE OF THE COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE

Sustainable Clinical Trials:The Journey from Ambition to Action 5th November 2026, Espace Inkermann Châtillon, Lille, France Last November, something unexpected happened. The people working to decarbonise clinical trials sat in the same room for the first time and...

Fifth Sustainable Clinical Trials Community of Practice Webinar

What Fuels the Footprint?The Data Behind the Clinical Trials Carbon CalculatorMonday 29 th June 2026 – 1 pm UK time In this webinar series, we have presented the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition's Clinical Trials Carbon Calculator (version 3 has just been released!),...

Fourth Community of Practice Webinar

Assessing clinical trial emissions - from theory to practice 19 March 2026 1-2pm pm UK time Measuring emissions in clinical trials sounds technical, and it is. But this session is designed to make it relevant to you, wherever you are in your sustainability journey. In...

Community of Practice Webinar 3

2025 wrap-up and 2026 sneak peek Thursday 18 th December 2025 – 2 pm BST Let’s wrap up an amazing first year of the Sustainable Clinical Trials Community of Practice – together! In just seven months, this community has grown faster than any of us expected. We are now...

Community of Practice webinar

The Clinical Trial Carbon Calculator Thursday 28th August 2025 The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition followed the release of our Clinical Trials Carbon Calculator and Knowledge Hub by launching the Community of Practice. This community brings together a diverse group...

Partner Engagement Meeting – Tuesday 29th April 2025

Tuesday 29th April 2025, 09:30 – 16:45 UKThe Sustainable Healthcare Coalition will be hosting its next engagement meeting on 29th April 2025.The SHC is a healthcare sector led group that looks for the greatest opportunities to inspire sustainable practices in...

In-Centre Haemodialysis Carbon Calculator Launch Event Webinar

13th June 2023, 13:00 -14:30 BST The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition (SHC) has collaborated with Newcastle Upon Tyne Foundation NHS Trust (NUTH) and AstraZeneca to produce ICHDcarbon.org, a free, online carbon footprint calculator for use by in-centre haemodialysis...

Green Surgery Webinar – Supply Chain, Procurement & Industry

10th April 2024 The Green Surgery Report, a collaboration between Brighton & Sussex Medical School, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare was published in November 2023. It lays out a clear statement of the need for...

7th Annual SCOPE Europe: Summit for Clinical Ops Executives

Barcelona, Spain, Monday 28th October 2024 Join Dr Fiona Adshead at CHI's 7th Annual SCOPE Europe: Summit for Clinical Ops Executives in Barcelona, Spain. On Monday 28th October, Dr Adshead will be leading a workshop on The Path Towards Sustainable Clinical Trials:...

Green Surgery Webinar

Green Surgery – Supply Chain, Procurement & Industry The Green Surgery Report, a collaboration between Brighton & Sussex Medical School, UK Health Alliance on Climate Change and the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare was published in November 2023. It lays out...

Partner Engagement Meeting

Tuesday 23rd April 2024, 09:30 – 17:30 UK The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition will be hosting its next engagement meeting on 23rd April 2024. The SHC is a healthcare sector led group that looks for the greatest opportunities to inspire sustainable practices in...

5th SAVING LIVES SUSTAINABLY GLOBAL FORUM: SUSTAINABLE PRODUCTION IN THE HEALTH SECTOR

23-24 November 2022 Sustainable Healthcare Coalition will be co-hosting the 5th Saving Lives Sustainably Global Forum on 23-24 November 2022, under the theme, “Supply Chains for Sustainable Health Care: Production and Procurement to Accelerate Social and Environmental...

UKKA webinar on Sustainable Kidney Care

The UK Kidney Association's Sustainable Kidney Care Committee is a new body convened to raise awareness and catalyse action to improve the carbon footprint and sustainability of renal care. Programme • IPCC and COP26: what happens now? - James Dixon, Newcastle...

Decarbonisation of the global healthcare system is new Taskforce’s priority

Decarbonisation of the global healthcare system is the priority for new Taskforce launched at COP26, as part of His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales’ Sustainable Markets Initiative For the first time, a unique collaboration of leaders from global life sciences,...

You are invited to The Green Surgery Conference

4th November 2021 - 12:00 to 14:30 UK The Sustainable Healthcare Coalition, in collaboration with a supportive group of partners, is pleased to announce the Green Surgery Conference. The virtual conference, co-hosted by the Centre for Sustainable Healthcare and the...

Pharma Integrates

Live Online - 16th November 2021 Coalition chair, Dr Fiona Adshead will be discussing how we can use collaboration to accelerate the move to sustainable and Net Zero healthcare at the Pharma Integrates event. Happening on the 16th of November 2021, Pharma Integrates...

Wearable Injectors and Connected Devices

The power of collaboration to deliver sustainable healthcare 18th-19th October, 2021 SMi’s 2nd annual Wearable Injectors and Connected Devices Conference will explore real world case studies of on-body device design and development for large volume delivery while...

CleanMed Europe 2021 Online

Collaboration for net zero in healthcare: Lessons learnt on how to accelerate change Tuesday, 30th November, 2021, 12:00 - 1:30 UK Over the last year there have been considerable learning opportunities from the response to the twin crises presented by the coronavirus...

COP26: Addressing the climate crisis and health: how individual health professionals can make a difference

Tuesday, 26th OCTOBER 2021, 9.00-10.00 UK and 18.00-19.00 UK Dr Fiona Adshead, chair of the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition will be presenting at the first session of a two free two-part webinar series for healthcare professionals who want to get involved in...

The Green Surgery Challenge 2021

Calling all surgical healthcare professionals! Would you like to find solutions that transform surgical practice to become less harmful to the environment and build social sustainability?The Green Surgery Challenge 2021 is an opportunity for the UK’s surgical...

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