Outcome statementReducing the environmental and financial costs of our supply chains, including the way we purchase goods and services, engage with our suppliers and drive circularity.
Reducing the environmental and financial costs of our supply chains, including the way we purchase goods and services, engage with our suppliers and drive circularity.
The Net Zero Government Operations Policy sets a range of actions for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Health targeting scope 3 emissions and circularity. By 1 January 2026, all agencies must have long-term net zero plans for their operations, including identification of their biggest scope 3 emission sources. From 1 January 2025, agencies must preference products that contain recycled content on an ‘if not, why not’ basis.
Under the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041, by 2030 we are required to achieve an 80% average recovery rate from all waste streams.
Around 70 percent of the health system’s global emissions footprint is derived from the supply chain, including but not limited to the production, transport, and disposal of health-related goods such as medicines.2 Supply chain emissions can materially impact the health, safety and wellbeing of communities.2 Therefore, supply chain resilience is a precondition of a climate resilient health system.2 This presents significant opportunities for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Health to collaborate with key stakeholders to reduce emissions in procurement and decarbonise our supply chain. Procurement policy is an important mechanism to support decarbonisation of health system supply chains.
By leveraging the purchasing power from the goods and services we buy from our partners and suppliers, we can influence emissions performance outside of our direct control. To achieve this goal, we will engage with our suppliers to improve and report on environmental performance, and the emissions footprint of products we purchase. Other jurisdictions, including the National Health Service in the UK, have developed roadmaps to support supply chain decarbonisation and supplier alignment with their net zero ambitions, supported by government procurement policies.16
To deliver against the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Government’s net zero targets, we need to partner closely with suppliers, industry, government, regulators, and international partners to build sustainable and resilient supply chains.
Single use plastic is a substantial issue in our economy and an acute issue in our healthcare system.17 Legislation such as the Plastics and Circular Economy Act 2021 which supports the phase out of single-use plastics, facilitates the reduction of problematic single-use plastic items, optimising our plastic resources and improving our understanding of the future of plastics.18,19
Several ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Health organisations, including HSºÚÁϳԹÏÍø, are already shifting away from single-use products and embedding sustainability in procurement decisions. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø is starting to transition to a circular economy which involves minimising what we throw away and using and reusing our resources efficiently.19
The consultation process confirmed what is working well in the system and identified priorities and areas that require improvement.
There were many examples of what is working well to decarbonise health system supply chains, including:
EnableºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s Going Circular pilot project focuses on developing a circular economy model for providing home respiratory equipment in ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø to reduce waste and carbon emissions.
The project team partnered with the Clinical Excellence Commission, clinical experts from Sydney Local Health District, SWSLHD and industry partners to develop and implement best-practice procedures and quality standards to clean and refurbish returned respiratory devices. Returned devices meeting quality and safety standards are added back to stock and re-issued to new patients in the community.
A survey for patients and clinicians is capturing feedback regarding perception of quality and acceptance of re-issued equipment. This pilot will inform EnableºÚÁϳԹÏÍø’s statewide model for equipment provision, with the potential to significantly reduce emissions and waste generated through the supply chain, keeping valuable products and materials in circulation for longer.
HSºÚÁϳԹÏÍø has embarked on a sustainable supply chain program. Departing from conventional methods of receiving medical supplies, the program involves direct container delivery from the manufacturer’s factory to the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Health warehouse.
The trial significantly reduces intermediate handling, cutting down on forklift operations, truck kilometres and the use of pine pallets. By streamlining the delivery process, HSºÚÁϳԹÏÍø has been able to maintain several months' worth of stock and improve supply chain resilience.
The trial has already achieved $2 million in savings in the first year. It is anticipated that the program will reduce truck travel by 23,872 kilometres and decrease pallet usage by 8,401 units.
Given the success of the trial, there are plans to expand the program. It’s success stems from an effective collaboration with the supply chain partner, OneLink, and strong relationships with our suppliers.
In 2023, ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Health engaged its leading suppliers from high-emission categories, including pharmaceuticals, medical equipment and waste management, in a series of roundtable discussions. This collaborative engagement aimed to identify barriers and explore opportunities for sustainable procurement in the healthcare sector, as a first step towards supply chain decarbonisation.
In April 2024, the Australian Government signed a public statement of collaboration with the United States and United Kingdom to decarbonise healthcare supply chains.
The initiative is led by the National Health Service in England and the United States Department of Health and Human Services. Other countries that have signed the public statement, include Ireland and Norway.
The DCCEEW established the Choose Circular funding for ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Government agencies to complete activities to increase the use of ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø-priority recycled materials in procurement.
This is to support a requirement under the ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Waste and Sustainable Materials Strategy 2041 for Government agencies to preference recycled content in purchasing, on an ‘if not, why not’ basis. ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø Health has successfully secured resourcing under the Choose Circular Fund to develop a Circularity and Recycled Material Action Plan to understand the measures that can be taken to improve their circularity and the uptake of recycled materials.
The ºÚÁϳԹÏÍø healthcare sector faces many challenges, including global supply chain volatility, material scarcity, decarbonisation targets, tightening healthcare budgets, growing patient requirements, and waste production. A shift to a circular economy could address these issues, through minimising waste, improving material circulation, and providing natural capital regeneration. Circularity positions the sector for innovative solutions to address systemic challenges, offering benefits including supply chain resilience, job creation and reduced operational costs.
The textile industry accounts for ~10% of the world’s carbon emissions. It is reported that in Australia, 800,000 tonnes of textile waste is sent to landfill each year2.
In 2024, Hunter New England LHD partnered with Noveco Surfaces to recycle textiles (including scrubs, shirts, trousers, shorts, skirts, knitwear and outwear) into green ceramic tiles. These textile items are being diverted from landfill, and transformed into tiles that will be utilised in the new John Hunter Health and Innovation Precinct.
Five collection drives have been held at John Hunter for staff to recycle their old uniforms, with plans in place to expand uniform collection at other district sites.
