A Glasgow event aimed at further decarbonising care will be an important moment for NHS Scotland to further press home its advantage, a health service partner insists

The Net Zero NHS Scotland 2025 conference on Tuesday 30 September is set to inspire fresh innovation in that drive to enhance and complement the many initiatives already underway.

In 2019, NHS Scotland became the first national health service in the UK to commit to becoming a zero emissions organisation within its own operations and set a 2040 target date for delivering on that target.

It also committed to a more challenging net zero goal of 2045 for its extensive supply chain, further underlined by a Scottish Government strategy for achieving a sustainable health service.

Formal NHS Scotland partner InnoScot Health believes the conference — taking place at the Radisson Blu Hotel on Argyle Street — can shape a more forward-thinking health service with “bigger wins in its sights on the way to delivering a greener NHS”.

Head of Innovation, Robert Rea said: “Scotland’s pledge to deliver net zero emissions by 2040 firmly positioned it as a global leader in sustainable healthcare whilst setting a benchmark for other national health services.

“Major gains have been made since 2019 — from the elimination of environmentally damaging anaesthetic gases delivered through the National Green Theatres Programme, and an increasingly electric-powered fleet of NHS vehicles, to the vital introduction of more reusables across every health board.

“Next week’s Net Zero NHS Scotland 2025 conference represents the perfect platform for identifying where we need to be in 15 years’ time — and how to get there.

“We’ve successfully plucked a great deal of the most low-hanging green fruit in recent times. Now, Scotland’s NHS must have the bigger wins in its sights on the way to delivering a truly sustainable health service.

“That means a focus on improving the emissions of the NHS estate — on greater energy efficiency, better insulation, and implementing renewable heating systems.”

“The next natural step in that green evolution will be seen with the University Hospital Monklands, currently under construction in Airdrie, which is set to become Scotland's first net zero carbon digital hospital, in turn setting an example for Scotland’s future healthcare facilities.”

Robert added: “In such a fertile environment for new ideas, there is much innovation for NHS Scotland staff to contribute and help shape the direction of travel. Their voices and experience are vital to the process.”

Among speakers at the conference will be Neil Gray, Cabinet Secretary for Health and Social Care; Caitlin Hamlett, Head of Climate Change & Sustainability at NHS Scotland; and former InnoScot Health webinar speaker, Kenneth Barker, Clinical Lead for the National Green Theatres Programme.

Organisers NHS Scotland say that it “cannot deliver its sustainability aims on its own. Collaboration with local communities, local authorities and other public bodies, third sector organisations and suppliers are crucial to achieve these ambitions”.

It was added: “This conference is not just an event; it is a crucial step towards a more sustainable future for healthcare in Scotland.”

InnoScot Health’s Sustainability Innovation Call encourages sustainable, forward-thinking ideas from health and social care professionals in a bid to help support NHS Scotland to adapt, develop, and strengthen in response to climate change.