8. Circularity as a climate change strategy for health workers
The combined burden of a growing and ageing population and rising rates of chronic diseases creates a great need for sustainable models of care, exacerbated by the energy crisis. Paradoxically, the global healthcare system accounts for 4% of global CO2 emissions. [6]While it produces more waste than the aviation and shipping industries, it also produces excessive amounts of waste. Sustainability-conscious healthcare leaders are increasingly turning to medical technology to break this destructive cycle.
In medical technology, “looping” is broadly associated with closing the hardware loop. But the adoption of smart digital tools also enables the “dematerialization” of healthcare systems, delivering maximum value with minimal resources – for example supporting the move from resource-intensive clinical facilities to networked, lower-cost environments or even the home. And the trend towards cloud, services and software-based solutions saves materials needed for on-site enterprise hardware, reducing CO2 emissions and further optimizing efficiency.
Similarly, a usage- and outcomes-based business model allows hospitals to consume the system’s capabilities “as a service” without large upfront investments, supporting multiple reuses and recycling. For hospitals, it’s not about owning X, Y, Z scanners, it’s about providing patients with the best possible images and analysis to support precision diagnosis and personalized treatment.
The trend is clear: circular practices such as designing for retrofit, maintainability and upgradeability will become an essential part of the healthcare industry’s climate action toolbox – especially as circular innovations also help hospitals address financial and budgetary constraints and reduce their environmental impact.
