KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 29 (Bernama) -- Global healthcare leaders from the Sustainable Markets Initiative (SMI) Health Systems Task Force are in advanced discussions with energy providers in China and India to scale renewable power across their supply chains and accelerate the transition to net zero health systems.
This is the first time that companies from across the global healthcare sector, including AstraZeneca, GSK, Novo Nordisk, and Roche have come together to pioneer such initiatives in these countries.
According to a statement, China and India are key markets for pharmaceuticals manufacturing, estimated to account for up to 50 per cent of materials for medicines.
AstraZeneca Chief Executive Officer and Chair of the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force, Pascal Soriot said: “The world has finally woken up to the reality that the climate crisis is also a health crisis.
“With this realisation must follow bold, scalable action if we are to secure a liveable and sustainable future. Today’s announcement sends a positive demand signal for green power, providing a blueprint for others to follow, and underlines the SMI’s commitment to leading the decarbonisation of the healthcare sector.”
In China, the power agreements would unlock renewable energy in Jiangsu, Guangdong, Shanghai and Beijing, set to bring around 70 megawatts (MW) of renewable power annually to the grid from 2024 onwards, while, in India, the initiative aims to support suppliers in Gujarat, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu.
These collective efforts to progress renewable energy access, demonstrate the power of collaboration at scale in these markets, and the convening power of the SMI.
Beyond supply chain decarbonisation, SMI Health Systems Task Force members are spurring progress to reduce the environmental footprint of healthcare delivery, which accounts for nearly half of the sector’s global emissions.
An international measurement framework is also being developed to calculate the carbon emissions from different patient care pathways, aiming to identify the major drivers of emissions and ultimately reduce the environmental impact of healthcare delivery.
The group is also examining how to quantify the carbon emissions of clinical trials. In addition, a new workstream, led by consumer goods maker Reckitt, will focus on the role consumer health and wellbeing can play in decarbonising the healthcare sector.
Since the launch of the Task Force in 2021, suppliers and leading healthcare companies have been inspired to contribute to its efforts, demonstrating its broader positive influence across the sector, and recently welcomed three new members, namely, Reckitt, Novartis and Bupa.
-- BERNAMA
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