Why Decarbonisation Matters for the Medical and Pharmaceutical Industry
Climate change has never just been an environmental issue, it is also a public health emergency. Rising temperatures, worsening air quality, food and water insecurity, and more frequent extreme weather events are already affecting the health of millions across the globe. There are two distinct, but closely related, implications for medical and pharmaceutical companies. First, as key players in the safeguarding and advancement of global health, they must address the growing burden of climate-related illnesses. Second, they must confront their own environmental impact and accelerate decarbonisation efforts to avoid worsening the crisis they are working to solve.
The Health Impacts of Climate Change
The links between climate change and health are clear and growing stronger:
- Fossil fuel combustion contributes to both greenhouse gases and air pollution that aggravates asthma, COPD, and other respiratory conditions.
- More frequent heatwaves increase risks of dehydration, heatstroke, cardiovascular stress, and premature death.
- Warmer temperatures and shifting ecosystems expand the range of mosquitoes, ticks, and other vectors, driving the spread of malaria, dengue, Lyme disease, and more.
- Droughts, floods, and changing weather patterns threaten safe water supplies and nutrition, leading to malnutrition and gastrointestinal illness.
- Extreme weather events, displacement, and uncertainty contribute to stress, anxiety, and trauma.
The Industry’s Carbon Footprint
Ironically, the healthcare sector itself is responsible for an estimated 5% of global GHG emissions. Pharmaceutical manufacturing, medical supply chains, cold-chain logistics, and energy-intensive research and development all contribute significantly to emissions. Hospitals and health systems, heavily dependent on single-use plastics and sterile packaging, add further demand. For pharmaceutical and medical companies, this creates a dual responsibility to innovate in ways that improve resilience to climate-driven health challenges, and to reduce their own contribution to the problem through ambitious decarbonisation strategies.
Why Medical and Pharmaceutical Companies Need to Decarbonise Urgently
Protecting credibility and trust
As companies dedicated to human health, failing to act on their own emissions risks undermining public trust. Patients, customers, regulators, and investors increasingly expect coherence between mission and action.
Regulatory and financial pressure
Government bodies (like the NHS) are tightening climate disclosure requirements. Carbon-intensive operations face risks of higher costs, disrupted supply chains, and stricter compliance demands.
Supply chain resilience
Climate change disrupts raw material availability, transport routes, and energy reliability. Decarbonisation efforts such as transitioning to renewable energy, building more localised production, and reducing waste will also increase supply chain resilience.
Pathways to Decarbonisation
Decarbonisation efforts in the medical and pharmaceutical industries often face a set of distinct challenges, owing to highly complex global supply chains, energy-intensive yet vital processes such as cold-chain logistics, and the need to comply with strict safety and regulatory requirements. These hurdles make rapid change difficult, but they also highlight areas where targeted action can drive progress. Companies in the sector have several promising avenues to pursue, such as:
- Moving R&D and production sites to renewable electricity.
- Reducing solvent use, recycling water, and investing in cleaner chemical processes.
- Switching to low-emission fleets, optimising shipping routes, and reducing reliance on cold-chain storage where possible.
- Designing products and packaging with reuse and recycling in mind.
- Working with suppliers, governments, and NGOs to set industry-wide standards and share best practices.
The NHS’ Big Bet
The NHS has committed to reaching net zero across its direct emissions by 2040 and across its wider supply chain by 2045. Given the size of the NHS as a healthcare provider and purchaser, this commitment has significant implications for suppliers in the medical and pharmaceutical sector.
The NHS has set out a phased supplier roadmap. From April 2023, all NHS tenders have included a requirement for a carbon reduction plan. By 2024, this expands to cover all suppliers above certain thresholds, and by 2027 it will apply to all procurements regardless of contract size. By 2030, suppliers must demonstrate progress against a published net zero plan as a condition of supply. Ultimately, by 2045, suppliers must themselves be operating at net zero in order to maintain access to NHS contracts.
This roadmap signals a clear direction of travel. For pharmaceutical and medical companies, it is not just a regulatory requirement but a strategic imperative. Compliance with the roadmap is essential to maintain access to one of the largest healthcare markets in the world. At the same time, aligning with these milestones positions companies as credible partners in the global health response to climate change.
A Low-Carbon Future is a Healthier Future
Climate change is the defining health challenge of the 21st century. For medical and pharmaceutical companies, the path forward is clear, continue innovating to address the health consequences of climate change, while also ensuring their operations align with the urgent need for decarbonisation.
By embracing sustainability, the industry can both protect human health and help build a future where medical progress and planetary wellbeing go hand in hand.
This blog post marks the first in a series, keep a look out for our future posts on the the specific health impact impacts of climate change!
