As the European healthcare sector faces the dual pressures of climate change and growing resource demands, the PROCURE project has taken a step forward. Under its Community of Interest Forum – CoIF, Thematic Area 4 – Sustainable Procurement, led by MedTech Europe, is spotlighting procurement as a transformative tool for building climate-resilient and environmentally responsible healthcare systems.

In two high-impact webinars, experts and stakeholders from across Europe explored how sustainable procurement practices and medical technology can contribute to more circular, value-driven care models.

Rethinking Procurement Strategy

The first webinar, Improving Sustainability in Healthcare Procurement (25 February 2025), hosted by Prof. Erik van Raaij and Dr. Maike Tietschert of Erasmus University, unveiled startling figures from the Dutch healthcare sector: 7% of national CO₂ emissions, 13% of raw material use, and 8% of blue water consumption are linked to healthcare services. In hospitals like Erasmus MC, 60% of emissions stem from the supply chain, with pharmaceuticals responsible for 40% of that footprint.

The session encouraged a shift from price-based procurement to a total value chain approach, urging public buyers to integrate life-cycle analysis, supplier engagement, and circularity principles into their purchasing decisions. Introducing the “12Rs” framework—including reuse, redesign, and recycling—the webinar highlighted the need for incremental, culture-embedded change.

Medical Technology: A Driver of Greener Pathways

The second session, Towards Greener Healthcare: The Power of Partnerships (6 March 2025), led by Keith Moore of the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition (UK) and Mesut Kocaman from Johnson & Johnson (UK), focused on the role of medical technologies in reducing healthcare’s carbon footprint.

The speakers introduced the care pathway approach, which evaluates environmental impact across the entire patient journey—from diagnosis to treatment and follow-up. A case study on gastrointestinal surgery revealed how innovations like antibacterial sutures can prevent complications, reduce hospital stays, and decrease emissions.

Both webinars emphasised the alignment of sustainability with value-based healthcare, where positive patient outcomes and ecological responsibility go hand in hand.

A Unified Call for Action

These two webinars offered complementary perspectives—one focused on procurement strategy, the other on technological innovation—and underscored a clear message: sustainability must become a core criterion in healthcare decision-making.

Thematic Area 4 is a key pillar of the PROCURE project, an EU-funded initiative aiming to reform public procurement in healthcare.