Global
Health Systems’ Resilience
We are mobilizing our expertise, partnerships, and innovations to help support healthcare systems that are resilient to environmental change, equitable, and sustainable—for today and for generations to come.
Amy Lin, Technologist, Amy Lin, Technologist, R&D Vaccine, Toronto, Canada
Our Blueprint for Fostering Environmentally Resilient Healthcare
As environmental challenges such as climate change and air pollution accelerate, healthcare systems face mounting pressure—from extreme weather events to the rising burden of chronic and infectious diseases. At the same time, the healthcare sector contributes nearly 5% of global CO₂ emissions , with 45% of that total attributable to the patient care pathway.
At Sanofi, we have launched a bold strategy to help build environmentally resilient healthcare as a core part of our sustainability vision. We are building a robust evidence base to drive effective, science-based interventions and solutions that can enhance healthcare system adaptability. We are also spearheading coordinated collective efforts to significantly reduce the environmental impact of healthcare systems while enhancing their resilience and sustainability.
Generating Data to Understand Patient Care Pathway Decarbonization Impact
We're leveraging the "seven levers of decarbonization" framework to strengthen our evidence-based approach to reducing healthcare's environmental footprint. This comprehensive model, developed through our leadership in the Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force, provides a structured methodology for identifying and quantifying emission reduction opportunities across patient care pathways. By applying these levers - which include areas such as prevention, treatment optimization, and care setting shifts - we're generating robust data on the carbon impact of various healthcare interventions.
Seven Levers of Decarbonization
Decarbonizing Fleets
Reducing heat and power emissions in fleets and facilities.
Diagnosing Early
Early diagnosis reduces the burden on health systems and subsequently lowers emissions.
Preventing Disease Onset
Preventing disease is the most cost-effective way to reduce the burden of disease.
Optimizing Disease Management
Avoiding disease progression helps reduce the burden on health systems.
Improving Intervention Efficiency
Reducing unnecessary or inappropriate prescriptions.
Delivering Care Remotely
Reducing the need for patient travel helps lower emissions.
Using Lower Emissions Treatments
Limiting treatments and procedures with a large carbon footprint.
For example, our comprehensive telemedicine study in Egypt demonstrated that virtual medical appointments reduce carbon emissions by eliminating patient travel while simultaneously improving healthcare accessibility for vulnerable populations. This data-driven approach enabled us to work with governments, health insurers, and healthcare providers to make telemedicine appointments reimbursable, transforming healthcare delivery at scale.
Prevention of disease onset before it requires resource-intensive interventions is also a powerful tool in reducing the patient care pathway’s carbon footprint. By preventing diseases through immunization, healthcare systems can significantly reduce CO 2 emissions associated with multiple medical visits, hospitalizations, primary care consultations, and patient transportation.