by Kelvin Sanborn, Head of ESG, GE HealthCare
Climate change is no longer a distant threat — it is a present and accelerating crisis that profoundly impacts global public health. The World Health Organization estimates that climate change will cause 250,000 additional deaths annually over the next quarter century from malnutrition, malaria, diarrhea and heat stress. Extreme weather events — such as hurricanes, wildfires and floods — disrupt healthcare services, destroy medical infrastructure and limit access to essential treatments. Additionally, air pollution exacerbates respiratory diseases and cardiovascular conditions, increasing the demand for medical interventions.
As the healthcare industry works to address these challenges, medical technology companies can play a critical role in developing resilient healthcare solutions that reduce environmental impact and are able to provide accessible, effective and sustainable patient care. By integrating environmentally conscious design, reducing emissions and embracing circular economy principles, we can help build healthcare systems that are climate-resilient and deliver effective patient care.
Environmentally conscious product design
Sustainable product innovation is essential to minimizing healthcare’s environmental footprint. By understanding our customers’ needs and industry challenges, we identify opportunities to bridge these gaps through innovative product design. For example, GE HealthCare’s End-tidal Control[1] software automatically adjusts and maintains exhaled oxygen and exhaled anesthetic concentrations. One study has shown a potential 44% decline in the rate of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions when employing it.
Prioritizing energy efficiency and emissions reductions, our engineers embed sustainability principles in the design process — striving to minimize energy consumption and enhance overall operational performance. The Omni Legend PET/CT system’s standby power mode — when idle — reduces energy consumption by up to 50%, while the SIGNA™ Champion MRI scanner’s shorter scan times reduce power demands, improve patient experience and expand imaging access. Through simple energy efficiency features, healthcare systems could significantly reduce carbon emissions and resource use, benefiting the environment and patients.
Embracing circular economy principles
Shifting to a circular economy approach, where products are designed for reuse, refurbishment and recycling, allows for continuous upgrades that balance environmental and business sustainability. We offer MR upgrades that preserve the existing MRI magnet, resulting in an avoidance of approximately 100 tons of CO2 emissions as compared with installation of a new system[2], while keeping our customers at the forefront of rapid technological advancement.
Through our GoldSeal program, we extend equipment life by accepting trade-in equipment from our customers. The equipment undergoes an extensive inspection and testing process, and if machines are found to still be viable, they are refurbished to their original specifications and resold, often to hospitals in emerging markets that need exceptionally high-quality equipment at a lower cost. Valuable components and recyclable parts are harvested from retired equipment. We want to continue to build on our long history of innovation to transform patient care, with environmentally conscious innovations.
GoldSeal system getting refurbished
Enabling broader access to quality care
Marginalized and low-income communities often bear the brunt of climate change’s health impacts. These populations frequently have limited access to healthcare and are more vulnerable to environmental hazards. Medical technology companies can support these communities by developing mobile health solutions and portable diagnostic tools — as well as support with technical training — that bring essential care to those in need.
Our investment in the development of innovative technologies with fewer infrastructure requirements expands care to patients in difficult-to-reach areas. Vscan Air, for example, is designed to be refurbished, reused or recycled at the end of its product life. This portable, pocket-size wireless ultrasound device provides crystal-clear image quality to healthcare professionals’ fingertips and assists them wherever they need to go to bring care to their patients, whether it is on a remote island in Japan or Greece. Through these innovations, we can enable better patient care to an even broader population, helping health systems remain resilient in the face of challenges like extreme weather events.
Dr. Gon from Japan with Vscan Air
In 2024 we launched the GE HealthCare Foundation, incorporated separately from GE HealthCare, focusing initially on global maternal health. The foundation is working to address critical gaps in healthcare access and delivery by funding innovative social impact initiatives aimed at making healthcare more accessible, personal, human and flexible, with initial grants going to projects in Kenya, Indonesia and the United States, in regions impacted by large disparities in maternal healthcare.
Addressing our environmental footprint
The medical sector contributes about 5% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. GE HealthCare has a goal of achieving net zero by 2050. Our net zero roadmap includes reducing operational GHG emissions by 42% by 2030 from a 2022 baseline. Our Scope 1 and 2 emissions reduction strategy includes: driving energy efficiency across our operations, investing in renewable energy sources and transitioning our fleet vehicles to hybrid electric. In 2024, our facility in Zipf, Austria, achieved 100% on-site solar power generation, and our Hino, Japan, facility operates with 100% purchased off-site renewable energy. In addition, we have made notable progress in transitioning our European fleet, with 46% electric vehicles now in our Northern European fleet.
The future of sustainable healthcare
The evolving climate crisis presents significant challenges for the healthcare industry, but it also offers a critical opportunity to drive positive change. We recognize that sustainability is not just good business — it is a necessary investment to support strategies to combat climate change, reduce disease burden and strengthen healthcare systems.
Collaboration across the industry is essential to addressing climate change’s impact on public health. Medical technology companies, healthcare providers, policymakers and environmental organizations must work together to develop sustainable healthcare solutions. Strategic partnerships enable the sharing of resources, expertise and innovative technologies to drive meaningful change. Strong customer relationships, co-designed for maximum impact, help tailor solutions to the unique needs of healthcare systems and enhance global health resilience.
The intersection of climate change and public health presents one of the most pressing challenges of our time. We have a responsibility — and an opportunity — to come together and help lead the charge toward a more sustainable future.
[1] End-tidal Control in the United States is indicated for patients 18 years of age and older.
[2] Based on internal estimates. This includes the system carbon footprint and its transportation. Carbon footprint is the reduction of carbon emission that would have happened if the client exchanged the system instead of upgrading it. The transportation CO2 emission is estimated according to the weight of the items not replaced, the mode of the shipment, the distance of the shipment and SimaPro. SimaPro estimates sustainability KPIs. The magnet/system carbon footprint are based on screening life cycle assessment (SLCA) estimated with SimaPro. The CO2 emission is estimated using the weight and material type of the system components, energy consumption and mix of energy source in manufacturing, assumptions related to recyclability of raw materials, and transportation mode for shipping the system from the factory to the customer.
