NHS ‘set to miss 2040 net zero target without urgent action’

Health service must unite efforts to introduce circular economic structures to reach carbon neutrality, major report warns

Tameside Hospital in Ashton-under-Lyne. The NHS must ‘urgently’ slash greenhouse gas emissions to hit targets, scientists warn (Getty)

Urgent action is “critical” to put the NHS on course to reach its 2040 net zero target, new research has warned.

In order to slash its emissions, including from its wider supply chain which makes up 62 per cent of the NHS's carbon footprint, greenhouse gases must be cut by 8 per cent a year from 2020 to 2036 – a rate far higher than its current 1 per cent yearly average.

A report into the scale of the challenge the health service faces, put together by a research team led by the University of Exeter, highlighted the enormous level of waste the NHS generates, and called for the “extensive adoption” of circular economy practices across services and suppliers.

The NHS is responsible for 4 per cent of the UK’s total carbon emissions – double that of the aviation sector – meaning rapid action is needed “to avoid both a climate and health emergency”, the researchers said.

Its net zero target, set in 2020, included aims for an interim 80 per cent reduction in emissions by 2028-2032, and for the service’s wider supply chain, net zero by 2045, with an ambition for an interim 80 per cent reduction by 2036-2039.

The health service also committed to reducing all packaging used in operations and eliminating single-use plastics where possible.

Markus Zils, co-author of the report and professor for circular economy and management science at the University of Exeter, said: “NHS leaders have outlined their commitments to making health services more sustainable, but the pace of change has to swiftly accelerate.

“Our research has outlined that meeting the NHS’s ambitious net zero targets is only possible with the adoption of circular economy practices.

“It is critical that companies and key supply chain partners work with the NHS and wider health system to begin this journey. Such a transformation would dramatically enhance the patient experience, improve financial efficiency and reduce the system’s environmental impact.”

The authors of the report have said a successful shift to such working practices will require the government, the NHS and industry to work together to set a new standard for procurement, and also improve supply chain due diligence and foster innovation to not only ensure a shift to a circular economy occurs, but is also sustained.

The researchers worked with electronics firm Philips – a major supplier of health technology – on the report's recommendations.

Mark Leftwich, managing director of Philips UK and Ireland, said: “Now the government and NHS England are aligned to the net zero agenda and have set ambitious targets to achieve it, trusts and suppliers, like Philips, must take urgent action to begin the process of change.

“Critically, the research tells us that net zero and circular economy approaches have been treated as two distinct areas of focus within the NHS, government and supply chains. This needs to change. There needs to be a unified approach that treats circular economy practices as an answer to tackling the net zero goal and the growing backlog for diagnosis and treatment.“

An NHS spokesperson told The Independent: “The NHS has committed to reach net zero by 2040 for the emissions it can control directly, and by 2045 for the emissions it influences, including the full supply chain.

“This report demonstrates the importance of work already underway with our suppliers to meet this target. That’s why, one year on from the publication of the ‘Delivering a Net Zero NHS’ report, the NHS England Public Board published a roadmap to help suppliers align with our net zero ambition and from next month, all NHS tenders will include a minimum of 10 per cent scoring criteria in all procurements to assess how suppliers will contribute to NHS net zero targets.

“We continue to work closely with regulators, suppliers and supporting industry bodies in order to shape our approach.”