ABHI Membership

ABHI Sustainability: 100 Days in the Role

Sustainability seems to be the word of the moment and, although I am of course biased, there really is a reason for that.

As I write, the UK has just recorded its hottest ever day on record, making climate deniers sweat a little bit more than the rest of us.

Joining ABHI in what is a newly created role, and for me, a relatively new career path in a new industry, I thought it would be appropriate to share some of my thoughts on sustainability within HealthTech, especially at a point where climate change is so obviously affecting us.

The task of tackling climate change is monumental, and a challenge for organisations at all levels and stages in their sustainability journey. This is where I think the HealthTech industry can work together in a way that it may not have done previously, and independent of competitive advantage. For example, using the case of recycling, if a number of organisations can work together to use the same recycling company, they may be able to introduce circularity into the lifecycle of their product which was previously unattainable, due to the amount of recycled material being collected being so small. Working at scale is of course a problem for many companies, especially within an industry such as ours which is so SME dominated, so perhaps the most effective way of working could be in collaboration with one another.

The sustainability landscape is fraught with buzz words and green-specific terms. Although seemingly alien, many of the concepts refer to practices that companies are already doing. Making this new language accessible to all is important in our collective journey to net zero, and I hope that our Becoming Carbon Literate series has provided you with some useful explainers. The links to these features can be found below.

We also need to be aware of more than just the NHS Supplier Roadmap. Although vitally important and the main customer of the majority of our industry, there are other pressures suppliers need to be aware of. The Plastic Packaging Tax is important for organisations to understand, the UK Environment Act has given stronger powers to government in terms of setting targets for the environment, and there are also the many international net zero and sustainability related targets that are implemented in a global market. Although this is a daunting challenge, this emphasises the need for us to work together and share resources. Our recent session with IEMA on the circular economy, and the webinar provided for members, is a great example of this.

Much like Phil Brown and Steve Lee would tell you that regulation is important for everyone to be aware of, I believe sustainability to be exactly the same. From product concept, to its design and supply, it really is necessary now to consider how this fits with wider sustainability targets, and your own company commitments. It is not only the dedicated sustainability lead (if you have such a thing) in your organisation that needs to understand the landscape, every person should have an awareness of what is going on as it will permeate decisions right through the business.

Understanding what is going on is equally important for those you supply to. The NHS in England has set out a bold ambition to become the first net zero health service by 2045, but what I have picked up on in my short time with ABHI, is some discrepancy within individual Trusts and across the home nations. All of this comes from a good place, and indeed the ambition to reach net zero before 2045 is admirable, but if you are being asked to meet different targets by different Trusts, and across the different devolved administrations, then clearly this is unhelpful, and could actually compromise progress towards the 2045 deadline. As such, we are working hard to escalate this message with the relevant NHS officials to ensure that the 2045 deadline is the only milestone that should be targeted.

We are also continuing to highlight how delivering care in a more sustainable fashion is just as important as changes to supply chains for example. As I wrote in this short article that was published in the Guardian last month, using technology to change the patient pathway can save a wealth of resources, including the fuel patients use to travel to hospital, as well as the devices and energy involved in managing hospital admissions. Indeed, the most sustainable hospital stay is the one that does not happen.

And now, if you will permit me, a shameless plug. This is why all members should be a part of the Sustainability Group, to stay easily up to date with the ongoings in the industry, to read our Sustainability Framework, to grasp the terms and gather ideas for your own sustainability measures, and attend our Sustainability Conference on the 14th September, which we are delighted to extend for free to all our members. We have a brilliant line-up of speakers, and all who register will receive a copy of the event recording.

Finally, we are also looking to capture your own sustainability efforts, so that we can build up a repository of examples from industry that can be shared with stakeholders. It may be that you have changed the design of your product to reduce waste, started a programme to aid your local community or moved to energy efficient light bulbs in your office. No measure is too big or small, so please do write to me to detail your efforts.

Becoming Carbon Literate 

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