Pharmacy's role in a healthier, greener future
Wednesday, 01 October, 2025
Hospital pharmacy, like all areas of health care, has a responsibility to care for both people and the planet.
Health care has a significant environmental footprint; the Australian health system is responsible for approximately 5.4% of the nation’s total greenhouse gas emissions.1
At AdPha, sustainability isn’t just a goal — it’s embedded in everything we do. It’s one of the five pillars of Yindyamarra 2030, our six-year strategic plan. And earlier this year, we united healthcare voices from across Australia, Europe and North America during our annual MedsAware: Deprescribing Action Week, championing sustainable medicine use led by AdPha’s Grace Wong FANZCAP (MedSafety, MedInfo), founding Member of AdPha’s Climate and Health Specialty Practice Group and founder of Pharmacists for the Environment Australia.
To effectively confront the climate crisis, embedding sustainability into everyday healthcare practice is no longer optional. At a practical level, pharmacists and technicians are already doing this through the responsible disposal of waste and implementation of recycling programs, optimising medication use (including through deprescribing) and educating on greener alternatives (such as asthma inhalers with lower environmental impact), and adopting other eco-friendly practices such as electronic prescribing. In fact, just recently we celebrated Royal Perth Hospital as the first public hospital in Australia to roll out electronic prescribing for inpatients discharging from hospital, cutting paperwork and speeding up care in the process.
As representatives of the pharmacy profession, we believe sustainability must be front and centre, prioritised in prescribing, procurement and all healthcare decision-making.
Through our formal submissions to the Health Technology Assessment (HTA) Review, AdPha called for climate change mitigation and sustainability to be integrated into health care by including greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental impacts in evaluations. Factoring in carbon costs and demanding greater transparency will help drive greener, more responsible choices that benefit both human and planetary health.
Most notably, AdPha proudly represents pharmacy in Monash University’s Transitions to Sustainable Health Systems Consortium, which will soon release a sector-wide guide towards net zero — complete with relevant, practical recommendations for health professionals.
This national consortium brings together leading Australian researchers, healthcare organisations, and government health departments to accelerate emissions reduction, lower healthcare costs and deliver better patient outcomes. Supported by Monash Sustainable Development Institute (MSDI), the initiative focuses on system transitions, emission reduction strategies and behaviour change.
The upcoming guide will recommend actions such as:
- Increasing investment in disease prevention
- Streamlining healthcare services
- Considering environmental impact in procurement
- Minimising clinical and packaging waste
- Switching to renewable electricity
- Phasing out methane gas in health facilities
- Reducing patient travel through virtual care options
AdPha is proud to support the shift towards a more responsible and sustainable hospital pharmacy profession. We look forward to supporting the launch of Accelerating Towards Net Zero: A Guide for the Australian Health System — a vital first step to help health organisations fast-track our collective journey towards a healthier, more sustainable future.
The report is set to be available in October 2025 at www.monash.edu/msdi/transitions-to-sustainable-health-systems-consortium.
1. Australian Government Department of Health and Aged Care. Estimates of Australian health system greenhouse gas emissions 2021–22. April 9, 2025. [Internet] Canberra (AU): Australian Centre for Disease Control;2024. www.health.gov.au/resources/publications/estimates-of-australian-health-system-greenhouse-gas-emissions-2021-22
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