Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force

The Sustainable Markets Initiative is a not-for-profit organisation founded by His Majesty King Charles III in 2020, and is focused on driving sustainable transition through collective action across industries, finance and countries.

The SMI Health Systems Task Force is a public-private partnership created to accelerate the delivery of net zero, patient-centric health systems.  This CEO-led group includes AstraZeneca, Bupa, GSK, Novartis, Novo Nordisk, Merck Group, Reckitt, Roche, Samsung Biologics, Sanofi, the World Health Organization (WHO), UNICEF, NHS England, Sustainable Healthcare Coalition, and University of Pavia.

Its areas of focus are: i) Decarbonising supply chains; ii) Decarbonising patient care delivery; iii) Decarbonising clinical research; iv) Consumer health and wellbeing.

Since 2022, the Task Force has advanced collective, scalable action, including:

• A number of its members are collaborating to source green power in China and India, starting with an industry-first agreement in China with Envision Energy to source 70 MW of renewable power annually from 2024.
• Launched joint, minimum environmental targets for suppliers, including to set science-based targets and tackle water and waste.
• Progressed international frameworks to measure the carbon emissions of medicines manufacturing, care pathways for diabetes, and clinical trials.
• Launched a new Consumer Health and Wellbeing Working Group, to take a people- and place-centric approach to improve sustainable health outcomes.

Supporting the following commitments:

• Set a target date by which to achieve health systems net zero emissions (ideally by 2050).
• Deliver a baseline assessment of greenhouse gas emissions of the health system (including supply chains).
• Develop an action plan or roadmap by a set date to develop a sustainable low carbon health system (including supply chains).

Country experience:

Global: Commitments 4, 5 and 6 (biopharma companies have global sites, and their supply chains are also global; modelling from the SMI HSTF has created a global view of the health systems emissions baseline)

China and India: Commitment 6 (launched projects that will source green power in these markets with suppliers)

Links:

Site in English: https://www.sustainable-markets.org/taskforces/health-systems-taskforce/