Part by part. Partnership by partnership. How we can build a circular economy and more sustainable healthcare together.

This is a true example of a circular approach to healthcare resources. As opposed to the linear model of “take, make, dispose,” in a circular economy, products, parts, and materials are kept at their highest utility and value at all times, circulating between customers. This productive loop of “make, use, return”, helps obtain the most life from precious resources and keeps waste out of landfills. Today, transitioning from a linear to a circular healthcare economy is essential in creating a more sustainable world.

Improving healthcare sustainability via a circular economy does not just help improve the health of our planet. It creates new pathways to help improve the health of patients. That’s why – part by part – bold and innovative solutions that connect a range of companies and care providers are successfully accelerating needed improvements in healthcare sustainability. Making connections is key. Following a model where healthcare companies, NGOs and organizations across the public and private sector recognize their strengths and their interconnection as they work together toward a common goal can help drive global action on sustainability. Such a model provides a roadmap for the future – and the promise that healthcare leaders do not have to take on the issue of improving sustainability alone.

Healthcare leaders are looking to accelerate their sustainability plans

Today, the global healthcare industry accounts for 4.4% of global greenhouse gas emissions [1]. In the U.S., the healthcare sector contributes 7.6% of domestic U.S. greenhouse gas emissions [2].

Healthcare leaders in the U.S. and around the world are looking to accelerate their sustainability plans. According to the U.S. Future Health Index 2023 Report, environmental sustainability has become significantly more prominent in recent years. Compared to just 1% in 2021, 28% of U.S. healthcare leaders now identify implementing sustainability practices as one of their top priorities [3]. In addition, ten major U.S. healthcare systems have joined the Race to Zero, committing to achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050 [4].

Sustainability is an even higher priority on the global stage. Today, nearly a quarter of global healthcare leaders are prioritizing sustainability, six times the amount that was in 2021 [5].

Healthcare leaders understand the need to create a more sustainable approach that also facilitates access to care and are increasingly challenged with setting – and delivering on – ambitious environmental targets. These targets often call for rapid progress, which may be difficult for an organization to achieve on its own.

The path forward: partnership is key in the push to accelerate healthcare sustainability

At Philips, we are proud to have improved sustainability from within our company and are uniquely positioned to help drive change as both an experienced and credible health tech partner. We are constantly improving the environmental footprint of our own operations. We work with suppliers and customers across the value chain to reduce CO₂ emissions and are focused on delivering sustainable innovation.

We are reducing CO₂ emissions through innovation by

• Providing energy-efficient medical equipment
  
• Delivering EcoDesigned products/circular solutions with a lower carbon footprint
• Helping partners increase operational efficiency through digital – or software-based solutions
   

We delivered on our targets for 2020 [6] and set an ambitious 2025 target to drive tangible social and environmental impact

• In 2020, 100% of industrial sites sent zero waste to landfill
• 100% of operations powered by renewable electricity
  
• Carbon neutral operations since 2020
  

We achieved recognition as an environmental leader

• Leading company in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices [7]
• Wall Street Journal’s 100 most sustainably managed companies in the world [8]
  
• 10 years on the CDP climate change A-list [9]
   

By 2025, we aim to:

• Generate 25% of our revenue from circular products, services, and solutions
• Through investments in sustainable innovation, 100% of our products and services will be designed in line with our EcoDesign requirements aimed at improving energy efficiency, especially during the customer use phase

Stepping up our climate action priorities across the value chain, we are expanding our efforts to suppliers and customers to enhance their own sustainability programs. Because one thing is clear: more partnerships will multiply our collective impact.

For example, our Ingenia Ambition X 1.5T MR scanner comes with BlueSeal, a fully sealed magnet that has been designed to support the transition to sustainable, helium-free-for-life operations, as well as simplifying installation and reducing costly disruptions to MR services. In contrast to conventional magnet technology, which requires around 1,500 liters of liquid helium for cooling during operation, BlueSeal uses highly efficient, micro-cooling technology, which requires just 7 liters.

Today, Philips continues partnering to drive the adoption of circular thinking and encourage action among like-minded front-runners, NGOs and customers. Platform for Accelerating the Circular Economy (PACE) is a good example of this kind of public-private action. Initiated at the World Economic Forum in 2018, PACE has become the global collaboration and learning platform for public and private decision-makers to enable and scale circular practices globally. Within the framework of PACE, Philips assembled a coalition of capital equipment manufacturers with similar strong ambitions to learn from each other and develop and share best practices.