Sustainable Practices in Healthcare Systems
Summary
Sustainable healthcare seeks to minimise environmental harms while maintaining or improving patient outcomes. Key strategies include decarbonisation of energy supply, optimisation of procurement and supply chains, waste reduction through circular economy principles, and adoption of low-carbon clinical pathways. System-level interventions range from green building design and energy-efficient technologies to telehealth and digital health records that reduce travel and paper use. Clinical innovations—such as protocol revisions favouring reduced resource intensity and greater use of reusable over disposable equipment—complement operational changes in hospital estates, logistics and administration. Policy frameworks at national and international levels set targets for net-zero emissions, encourage transparent reporting of carbon footprints, and promote equitable investment in climate-resilient infrastructure. Collectively, these practices not only lower greenhouse-gas emissions and other environmental footprints but also foster health system resilience against climate-driven disruptions and contribute to public health gains by reducing pollution-related disease burden.
Research from Nature Portfolio
Recent studies have explored equitable decarbonisation pathways in health systems, emphasising that low-carbon transitions must account for socioeconomic and geographic disparities. Analysis of global health financing and emissions data has led to a framework of fair sharing of remaining carbon budgets, ensuring that low-income regions can expand service provision without compromising climate targets. Principles outlined include differentiated emission reduction trajectories, investment in climate-resilient infrastructure, and mechanisms to monitor health equity alongside carbon mitigation. These insights offer a roadmap for aligning net-zero goals with universal health coverage.
Sustainable Practices in Healthcare Systems publication trend
The graph below shows the total number of articles in sustainable practices in healthcare systems across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).
Technical terms
Carbon footprint: Total greenhouse-gas emissions associated with activities or products, expressed in carbon-dioxide equivalents.
Lifecycle assessment: Methodology to evaluate environmental impacts of a product or service across all stages, from resource extraction to disposal.
Decarbonisation: Process of reducing carbon intensity by transitioning to low- or zero-carbon energy sources and optimising processes to emit fewer greenhouse gases.
Net-zero: State in which greenhouse-gas emissions are balanced by removals through natural or engineered sinks over a specified period.
References
- Fair pathways to net-zero healthcare. Nature Medicine (2023).
- Quantification of the environmental impact of radiotherapy and associated secondary human health effects: a multi-institutional retrospective analysis and simulation. The Lancet Oncology (2024).
- Health care's response to climate change: a carbon footprint assessment of the NHS in England. The Lancet Planetary Health (2021).
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