Philips Announces Progress in Decarbonising Global Healthcare
Royal Philips, a global leader in health technology, have announced significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reduction results following collaboration with customers worldwide to assess and mitigate their carbon footprints, while also enhancing patient care and customer operational efficiency.
Key achievements include:
- Jackson Health System (US): A 47% projected reduction in CO2e emissions by replacing legacy patient monitors, comprising 508-tons equipment lifecycle CO2e reduction and 177 tonnes CO2e reduction due to battery and paper savings.
- Champalimaud Foundation (Portugal): 24% emissions reduction per exam in its radiology and nuclear medicine department in the first year, with a goal to halve the carbon footprint of its diagnostic and interventional imaging departments by 2028.
- Rennes University Hospital (France): Opportunities identified to reduce annual emissions of the cath lab through energy savings and sustainable equipment upgrades.
- County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (UK): A sustainability blueprint developed for the trust’s ICU, focusing on waste reduction and energy efficiency.
Robert Metzke, Global Head of Sustainability at Philips, said:
“Good healthcare has to be environmentally sustainable, which means words and good intentions urgently need to be turned into positive actions.
“Philips is committed to co-creating solutions that drive measurable, impactful change. By working with like-minded action leaders around the world, sharing with them our expertise in sustainable healthcare operations, we are helping them to take critical and tangible steps toward a greener future, while at the same time enhancing patient care.”
Examples of projects based on a comprehensive ‘360-degree’ holistic life cycle assessment (LCA) of a hospital organisation’s sustainability, together with more detail about key results include:
County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (Darlington, UK)
Philips partnered with County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust (CDDFT) to identify key opportunities to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and materials waste in the intensive care unit (ICU) at Darlington Memorial Hospital.
Key areas highlighted by the team for enhancing sustainable ICU care included patient discharge optimisation, waste reduction in the supply chain, staff training to encourage knowledge sharing and a sustainability culture, energy reduction and materials waste associated with ICU equipment, and the strategic refurbishment of buildings to reduce their emissions.
The results formed a blueprint to drive further change and improvement across the Trust, in line with the UK NHS’s target of being the world’s first net zero national health service by 2040. Read the full case study here.
Jackson Health System (Miami, Florida, US)
Philips conducted a retrospective Life Cycle Assessment of patient monitoring at three Jackson Health System hospitals revealing that by switching to the Philips monitoring platform from their previous providers, over a 10-year period, they may be able to reduce carbon emission from patient monitoring by 47%.
Data from the LCA indicated that the Philips IntelliVue and EarlyVue monitors can help reduce the health system’s patient monitoring carbon footprint by 508 tons of CO2e across all facets of the lifecycle. Battery and paper savings reduced CO2e by an additional 177.1 tons.
This significant reduction also eliminates the need for an estimated 420,000 disposable AA batteries and 6.5 million sheets of paper, which can allow the health system to save $1.2 million over a 10-year device lifetime.
Champalimaud Foundation (Lisbon, Portugal)
In March 2023, Philips and Champalimaud Foundation, a leader in translational biomedical research and clinical care, entered into a strategic partnership aimed at halving the carbon footprint of Champalimaud’s diagnostic and interventional imaging departments by 2028.
Potential reductions associated with equipment replacement and usage over the 5-year period were calculated and a replacement plan put into action. Based on a comprehensive LCA, the baseline carbon footprint of the existing imaging equipment was 2,175 tonnes CO2e.
The collaboration achieved a 24% reduction in CO2e emissions per exam in the first year, primarily through EcoDesign equipment replacement and incorporating circular practices. Read the full case study here.
Rennes University Hospital (Rennes, France)
Part of a five-year technology, research, and innovation partnership, this project aimed to decarbonise and reduce the overall environmental impact of Rennes University Hospital’s catheterisation laboratory (cath lab), in which a Philips Image Guided Therapy System – Azurion – is used to treat strokes and aneurysms.
Conducted in accordance with the latest European Union Product Environmental Footprint guidelines, a LCA of the carbon footprint and other pollutants associated with Azurion and the consumables used during interventional procedures revealed opportunities to reduce the lab’s annual emissions through energy savings, circular upgrades, and refurbishment.
The assessment also identified opportunities to reduce the rare metal content of equipment and consumables. Read the full case study here.
Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, US)
In collaboration with leading sustainability experts at Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Philips collaborated in a LCA project to measure and mitigate emissions associated with an entire radiology department.
The results revealed that 10-year emissions from Vanderbilt’s current diagnostic radiology unit amounted to 4,600 tonnes CO2e, primarily associated with lifecycle emissions from its MR imaging suite (48%) and CT imaging suite (24%).
Key mitigation recommendations for radiology departments included accelerating digitisation, embracing circularity, and transitioning to renewable energy sourcing. Recommendations for health technology companies included designing for energy reduction, applying circular design principles, and developing smart image storage.
Philips is driving sustainable and equitable healthcare
Philips recognises the link between human and environmental health, with healthcare systems responsible for over 4% of global CO2 emissions [2] and significant materials usage. As part of Philips’ broader ESG commitments, Philips is driving the transition towards sustainable and equitable healthcare to deliver better care for more people.
The company has been carbon neutral in its own operations since 2020. It is aiming for all new product introductions to be designed in line with the company’s EcoDesign requirements by 2025, with 25% of its revenue to be generated from circular products and services by 2025.
Societally, it aims to improve the health and well-being of 2 billion people per year by 2025, including 300 million people in underserved communities, and 1 million workers in its supply chain.
