Boosting green innovation in the NHS

Climate change has been identified as a major, and growing, threat to global health, impacting on both the provision of services and the resilience of healthcare systems. In the UK, air pollution accounts for 1 in 20 deaths with harmful emissions causing increased cases of asthma, cancer and heart disease. However, the NHS will also have to make significant efforts to tackle its own contribution to climate change, accounting for 4% of England’s carbon footprint. In October 2020, the Greener NHS Programme set the target of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2040, in response to this reality, making the NHS the first health service in the world to make such a commitment. 

MedTech innovation will have a key role to play in helping to achieve this ambition, by delivering sustainable solutions and offering digital tools to reduce carbon emissions in care pathways. With this goal at the forefront, SBRI Healthcare has awarded a total of £1 million to ten pioneering MedTech and digital innovations to support the delivery of a Net Zero NHS. The new projects are funded through a nationwide call by SBRI Healthcare, in partnership with the Greener NHS Programme, which attracted 46 applications from a range of organisations, including small businesses, technology start-ups and NHS Trusts.

Innovations across all NHS operations will play a critical role in helping to tackle healthcare’s environmental impact, while maintaining and improving standards of care