Healthcare providers must involve engineers to reach net zero targets, says IMechE report

The NHS, which is currently responsible for four per cent of England’s carbon emissions, has pledged to achieve net zero by 2045, with Scotland and Wales setting similar targets.

In a new report, ‘Transforming Healthcare: The role of engineering to deliver a Net Zero health service,’ the IMechE said the NHS should work more closely with engineers to develop innovations that tackle the unique problems that healthcare faces, in order to reach its net zero ambitions.

The NHS’ net zero goals, established in 2020 with a multi-year plan, included delivering more care at or closer to people’s homes, reducing waste of consumable products and making sure new hospitals and buildings are built to be net zero emissions.

In a statement, Dr Helen Meese, chair of the IMechE’s Biomedical Engineering Division and lead author of the report, said: “The transition to net zero requires a multi-stakeholder approach, and nowhere is this more evident than in healthcare.