The healthcare sector is one of many facing an environmental crisis.
With hospitals and medical facilities generating vast amounts of carbon emissions and waste materials - much of it non-recyclable and hazardous - the need for sustainable waste management has never been more urgent.
The sector’s waste problem, for example, extends beyond discarded syringes and expired pharmaceuticals; it includes single-use plastics (SUPs), energy-intensive medical devices, and the carbon footprint associated with waste disposal.
The focus on waste, and what else needs attention
A significant amount of the sustainability discussion in healthcare understandably centres around waste.
A 2023 study published in The Lancet Planetary Health found that single-use plastics account for up to 85% of the waste generated in operating theatres. While these items are designed to prioritise safety and infection control, their environmental impact is significant.
Innovative campaigns such as Great Ormond Street Hospital’s “Gloves Off” initiative have shown what’s possible.
By encouraging staff to go without gloves when safe to do so, the hospital reduced usage by more than 36,000 pairs per week, equating to a saving of around 9.5 tonnes of plastic a year.
Similarly, the adoption of autoclave sterilisation and plasma gasification technologies is helping to reduce reliance on landfill and incineration.
And take-back schemes, like those offered by Siemens Healthineers to refurbish old imaging equipment, demonstrate the benefits of circular economy thinking.
These examples demonstrate how practical solutions can make a tangible mark on sustainability challenges.
However, while waste is a clear and urgent issue, it isn’t the only sustainability challenge facing healthcare providers.That’s why the sector must now broaden its focus, and fast.
The clean energy opportunity
This is an area where healthcare facilities can make a big and immediate difference. Hospitals are some of the most energy-intensive buildings in the UK, and that comes with an enormous carbon footprint.
According to a report by Health Care Without Harm, the healthcare industry is responsible for more than 4% of global CO2 emissions, surpassing even the aviation and shipping sectors.
The NHS, in particular, has committed to becoming the world’s first net-zero health service by 2040, but achieving this goal requires a fundamental shift.
Yet many NHS Trusts and private providers have underused assets hiding in plain sight, namely, their car parks. By transforming these spaces into hubs for clean energy generation, healthcare providers can cut emissions, lower operational costs, and improve resilience to rising energy prices.
Our own Solar Savings Index has found that installing solar carports could save organisations over £200,000 a year, while cutting CO2 emissions by as much as 23 million kilograms annually.
This kind of infrastructure upgrade not only supports decarbonisation goals, but also unlocks long-term financial savings that can be reinvested in staff, services, and further green initiatives.
A broader sustainability strategy
The path to net zero in healthcare will never be one-size-fits-all. The global medical waste management market is projected to reach £18 billion by 2028, driven by regulatory pressures and the need for more efficient disposal solutions, and whilst waste reduction is absolutely critical, without addressing the broader environmental impact of operations, from energy use to procurement, the sector will fall short of its sustainability ambitions.
The good news is that many of the solutions are already available and scalable. Solar energy is a proven, cost-effective option that can be deployed with minimal disruption. It offers a clear, measurable return - not just environmentally, but financially too.
Castle Hill Hospital in East Yorkshire became the first in the UK to be completely powered by its own solar panel field during daylight hours.
Generating around 26MWh a day in the months of May alone (the equivalent of running 10,400 1-hour washing machine cycles), the project is saving the hospital a significant amount of money on hospital energy bills; approximately £250,000 to £300,000 every month.
Waste may be the most visible issue, but energy is the engine behind long-term change. By combining smarter waste management with forward-thinking energy strategies like solar carports, hospitals and healthcare providers can take control of their environmental impact proactively, practically, and powerfully.