Sustainable Healthcare: Greening the NHS and Climate Resilience

Innovation in healthcare isn’t just about new technologies—it’s about new relationships. As the NHS evolves to meet changing needs, patient-centered innovation offers a powerful framework for designing services that are not only efficient, but empathetic. Co-design puts patients at the heart of transformation, ensuring that the future of care is shaped by those who experience it most directly.

This panel brings together NHS innovators, service designers, patient leaders, and frontline staff to explore how co-design can drive meaningful change across the system. We’ll examine:

• How patient insight and lived experience can inform service redesign and digital innovation

• Successful models of co-production in clinical pathways, digital tools, and community health initiatives

• Strategies for engaging diverse voices and overcoming barriers to participation

• The cultural and structural shifts needed to embed co-design across NHS organisations

This is a conversation about creativity, collaboration, and courage. Join us to explore how the NHS can build a future that’s not just technologically advanced—but truly patient-led.

Sustainability in healthcare is no longer a niche concern—it’s a strategic imperative. As the NHS faces rising demand, constrained resources, and the growing impact of climate change, building a sustainable health system means rethinking how we deliver care, manage resources, and support communities for the long term.

This panel brings together NHS leaders, sustainability experts, clinicians, and system planners to explore what it truly means to embed sustainability into the heart of health service design. We’ll examine:

• How environmental sustainability intersects with clinical outcomes, equity, and workforce wellbeing

• Strategies for reducing carbon emissions, waste, and energy use across NHS estates and supply chains

• The role of Integrated Care Systems (ICSs) in driving place-based, preventative, and low-carbon models of care

• How digital innovation, public health investment, and community partnerships can support long-term resilience

This is a conversation about stewardship, innovation, and transformation. Join us to explore how the NHS can lead the way in building a health system that is not only clinically effective—but socially, economically, and environmentally sustainable.

Healthcare saves lives—but it also generates significant waste. From single-use plastics and packaging to expired medications and energy-intensive operations, the environmental footprint of the NHS is substantial. As the largest publicly funded health system in the world, the NHS has a unique opportunity to lead the shift toward a circular economy—where resources are reused, repurposed, and kept in circulation for as long as possible.

This panel brings together sustainability leads, procurement experts, clinicians, and innovators to explore how the NHS can reduce waste and embed circular principles into everyday practice. We’ll examine:

• The environmental and financial impact of healthcare waste across clinical and non-clinical settings

• Strategies for designing out waste through smarter procurement, reuse schemes, and sustainable product innovation

• How circular economy models can support resilience, cost savings, and carbon reduction

• Real-world examples of NHS trusts implementing circular practices—from surgical kit reprocessing to zero-waste initiatives

This is a conversation about responsibility, innovation, and systems change. Join us to explore how the NHS can move from a linear model of consumption to a circular model of care—and build a greener, smarter health service for the future.

Medical technology is at the forefront of clinical advancement—but it must also be part of the sustainability solution. From energy-intensive equipment to single-use devices and complex supply chains, the environmental footprint of medtech is significant. As the NHS commits to net zero, green innovation in medical technology is no longer optional—it’s essential.

This panel brings together NHS procurement leads, clinical engineers, medtech innovators, and sustainability experts to explore how we can accelerate the shift toward environmentally responsible innovation. We’ll examine:

• How design, materials, and lifecycle thinking can reduce the environmental impact of medical devices

• The role of NHS procurement and regulation in driving sustainable product development

• Opportunities for collaboration between clinicians, suppliers, and startups to embed green principles from concept to deployment

• Case studies of low-carbon technologies already improving care while reducing waste and emissions

This is a conversation about innovation with intention—where clinical excellence meets climate responsibility. Join us to explore how the NHS can lead the way in shaping a greener future for medical technology.