Sustainable Healthcare
NHS Scotland: progress towards net zero
Human health is inextricably linked to the health of our planet, and action is well underway in Scotland to deliver improvements in sustainability. Innovation Manager at InnoScot Health, Frances Ramsay analyses the environmental outlook for Scottish healthcare.
Never has the NHS placed more emphasis on reducing its environmental impact – and rightly so during a climate crisis which affects the health of all and will continue to do so for generations to come without meaningful intervention. The Scottish health service must be a true exemplar of adaptation and good practice in reducing emissions if it is to make the leap to formally becoming a net zero organisation. Underlining its commitment to a greener, more climate-resilient outlook, it made a bold statement of intent, pledging to deliver a net zero carbon footprint by 2040, five years ahead of the target set by NHS England. It is encouraging that action is well underway
in Scotland, and has been for some time, to meet that ambitious goal which underlines the tangible connection between climate change and the increasing demands being placed on the NHS. The World Health Organization (WHO)
estimates that air pollution causes over seven million premature deaths each year globally, with that number on the rise. In Scotland alone, it is thought to cause between 1,800 and 2,700 deaths each year from heart disease, stroke, lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and acute respiratory infections, making it a major public health risk. It can also contribute to dementia, type 2 diabetes, and poor mental health with children, older people, and those with underlying lung and heart conditions considered to be at particular risk. Climate change also means the country is subject to a range of negative health impacts, while also disrupting access to healthcare and essential services. As the Scottish Government notes in its NHS Scotland climate emergency and sustainability strategy: 2022-2026, “Human health is inextricably linked to the health of our planet and its natural systems. “We want to maximise our contribution to
reducing emissions from the manufacture and supply of medicines and equipment and from staff, patient and visitor travel. The level of those
emissions is determined by clinical decisions and models of care and so the involvement of all health professionals in efforts to improve sustainability is essential to success. Good care is environmentally sustainable care.” With that progressive, green mindset to the
fore, NHS Scotland is poised to make major strides across 2025 and beyond in its drive to reduce emissions through breakthrough innovation that is often inspired by the 190,000-strong workforce. Indeed, the Scottish health service continues
to make significant gains through a variety of initiatives including new technologies, new ways of working, and a deep focus on reducing emissions through careful analysis of facilities and outputs. I believe innovative approaches for more
environmentally sustainable care are being embedded at greater pace than we have ever seen before. There have been some very positive developments across NHS Scotland in recent times which, looked at collectively, add up to a picture of our health service making major strides on the road to lower emissions – from new thinking in building and transport emissions to more reusables and greater upcycling at all
levels. Among those, building innovation across the NHS Scotland estate is the biggest priority. In 2022/23, NHS Scotland’s reported emissions
from its net zero target areas were 571,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, of which 407,000 resulted from building energy use alone – a huge 70%. The Scottish Government notes in its 2022-2026 strategy that “increasing energy prices, particularly rising gas prices, have put the need to make the NHS estate more energy efficient into sharp focus. “Our goal is to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from our buildings by at least 75% by 2030 compared to a 1990 baseline, use renewable heating systems by 2038 for all NHS- owned buildings, and for all our estate to have net-zero emissions by 2040 or earlier where possible.” The strategy also commits NHS Scotland’s
new facilities to “either be designed to use renewable heating systems from the beginning of their use or to have a clear plan to do so by 2038 where a renewable heating system is not currently practicable”.
Of course, it is concerning that NHS Scotland’s carbon emissions result predominantly from building energy usage, but it is also not a
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