Net Zero Care Pathways

The NHS’s commitment to sustainable healthcare centres on its pledge to become net zero by 2040. Reducing our contribution to climate change will not only have an environmental impact but will also positively affect population health, inequalities and the overall cost of care.

But efforts to decarbonise require an integrated vision and an integrated approach to resource use that focuses on care pathways, knitting together improvement goals in access, outcomes and quality with carbon reduction. This integrated multi-goal approach is critical for the success of any decarbonisation plan.

Arden & GEM’s multidisciplinary support helps health and care systems to integrate sustainable practices seamlessly into care pathways, ensuring that every aspect of service delivery is evaluated and optimised for environmental impact. This approach not only targets carbon reduction but also the wider goals for improvements in access, quality and outcomes.

Our approach to strategic decarbonisation planning

We work with care leaders to understand their transformation plans, aiming for substantial reductions in carbon footprints and enhanced social innovation. This involves mapping carbon baselines, identifying opportunities for reduction, and integrating these measures with clinical and operational strategies.

Through a dedicated innovation process, we focus on understanding the carbon baseline within prioritised pathways. We overlay existing transformation plans and test the potential to innovate further existing initiatives and discover new opportunities for transformation. We then model the impact across multiple dimensions of benefit and goals, and consolidate the transformation plan ambition and impact.

Each sprint is tailored to advance decarbonisation through optimisation, innovation and strategic revision. These sprints utilise hackathons and iterative dynamic planning cycles to refine and enhance sustainability measures, ensuring continuous improvement and adaptation.

Our support to decarbonise care pathways also includes:

• Deploying cutting-edge tools, such as predictive health analytics and enterprise management systems, to optimise decision-making and resource allocation, effectively scaling decarbonisation efforts across various healthcare services.
• Operational implementation of decarbonisation strategies, employing real-time monitoring tools to track progress and measure impact. This helps maintain alignment with NHS’s broader sustainability goals and provides clear visibility into outcomes.
• A framework for planning and measurement that prioritises impact, recognises trade-offs, incorporates scenario planning and manages unintended consequences and risks across five domains:
  • Quality and access
  • Population outcomes
  • Value and efficiency
  • Carbon reduction
  • Social value.

An example – the cancer pathway

We lead with in-depth analysis and planning for integrating decarbonisation into major care pathways, such as cancer. Using predictive analytics and environmental impact assessments, we establish baselines and set actionable targets for carbon reduction.

By implementing initiatives that promote energy efficiency, waste reduction, and the use of sustainable materials and resources, we aim to transform healthcare environments into models of sustainability.