EBME
Engineers aiding the NHS to Net Zero
Dr Helen Meese presented to EBME Expo delegates how biomedical engineers are uniquely positioned to reduce the NHS’s environmental footprint. CSJ’s Editor Louise Frampton reports on the policies, strategies, and actions shaping sustainable MedTech for the next generation.
Speaking at EBME Expo, CEO of The Care Machine, and Hon. Prof. Innovation, Durham University, Dr Helen Meese, highlighted the key role that delegates could have in driving sustainability in the healthcare sector. She explained that the government has launched some key strategies in 2024-25, including: Invest 2035 and the Road to Recovery mandate. “These strategies emphasise economic renewal, and healthcare reform through innovation, digitisation, and sustainability. When they are aligned with the Greener NHS Initiative, they form a powerful triumvirate that can have the potential to provide a platform from which biomedical engineers can reshape the MedTech landscape and the healthcare sector as a whole,” she commented. The targets of the Greener NHS Initiative include:
n Sustainable procurement: By 2030, the NHS will only purchase from suppliers that meet Net Zero criteria.
n Low-carbon models of care: Accelerate use of virtual wards, telehealth, and AI-driven diagnostics.
n Waste minimisation: Cut medical waste intensity by 50 per cent, expand reusable medical technologies.
n Net Zero procurement mandate: By 2030, all NHS suppliers must meet strict environmental standards.
The Road to Recovery mandate outlines the government’s objectives for the NHS from January of this year and is focusing on reforming the service to better meet patient needs and improve efficiency. “In a nutshell, it’s about smarter care, with prevention,
‘community first’ models, low carbon clinical pathways, and digital services at its core. So, how does this relate to sustainability and Net Zero? Well, the mandate directs Trust boards to live within their allocated budgets and to improve efficiency, each year, by 2%. While this is tight, particularly with the financial controls that the NHS faces, it has the potential to create headroom to invest in Net Zero projects that will reduce capital outlay and raise efficiency. “The shift from hospital to community, and the shift from analogue to digital, both support the greener pathways in terms of reducing travel emissions, encouraging virtual wards and investment in areas like telehealth,” she explained.
The Invest 2035 initiative is aimed at providing certainty and stability for businesses to invest in high-growth sectors, and the plan is to target particular sectors such as clean energy, advanced manufacturing and, crucially, life sciences. It provides incentives for R&D, manufacturing innovation, and sustainable product development – prioritising long-term sustainability plans.
Models of change
“Circular economy models are going to be key to businesses going forward with this initiative. Invest 2035 forecasts a potential of £142 bn to boost the economy through integrating sustainable growth with industrial competitiveness, and it’s anticipated that this could grow our industries by 38,000 new jobs across the whole of the manufacturing sector, in the next few years. “For the MedTech industries, this means that there will be greater funding and investment available to spend on things like infrastructure, with a really key emphasis on sustainable medical innovation. This is inviting you – particularly those of you in the audience who are engineers – to focus on scaling up your green initiatives,” she continued.
We are uniquely positioned to continue leading the NHS into its greener future. The decisions that we make here will determine healthcare’s environmental footprint for generations to come.
March 2026 Health Estate Journal 73
By 2030, the NHS will only purchase from suppliers that meet Net Zero criteria.
AdobeStock / InfiniteFlow
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