Pharmaceuticals

Within this procurement proportion of the NHS carbon footprint, over 4 million tonnes CO2 can be attributed to the pharmaceuticals. This is more than the emissions from either building energy use or travel, and just slightly less than the two combined.

The high carbon footprint of pharmaceuticals is another reason to ensure the minimum wastage of drugs use. The NHS in England spends at least £8 billion a year on prescription medicines within primary care alone. To help reduce the NHS carbon footprint, it is important that efforts are made to reduce wastage from medicines in use. Although the pharmaceutical sector recognises the need to reduce their own carbon footprint, the DH and the NHS are important customers for the industry and will therefore wish to consider how they can work with the pharmaceutical companies to address this matter.
The Department of Health has already commissioned research to examine the scale and cost of medicines wasted and the complex reasons why people do not take their medicines as intended, which can itself result in greater wastage of medicines. The outcomes of this research are expected to be published during 2009 and will inform future policy. In addition, the DH has disseminated educational resources to both community and hospital pharmacies to assist them in engaging in and influencing members of the public to adopt practices that are consistent with the sustainable development agenda, helping to reduce the carbon footprint not just by reducing the amount of medicines wasted but also by adopting other practices that will help to improve health, and at the same time reduce the carbon footprint.