Supporting healthcare customers through a more sustainable approach.

Saving lives lies at the heart of the healthcare sector’s mission. But the industry has significant negative sustainability impacts, too. It is responsible for 5% of global CO2 emissions, and this will rise as the sector grows. Of these emissions, 84% come from healthcare’s supply chain. Growing awareness of sector impacts is changing the expectations customers have of their suppliers.

The Danish acute-care diagnostics company Radiometer tasked The Pivot to guide the company through a double materiality (DMA) process. We helped chart a plan to integrate sustainability deeper into business strategy and define how Radiometer can better support its customers toward greater sustainability.

The outcome? Clarity on the sustainability topics that matter most. Deeper engagement across Radiometer helped prepare Radiometer to meet changing customer expectations for transparency and lessen environmental impact.

Building a plan through double materiality

  • The ask

    What is most material?

    Create alignment on what is most material for Radiometer from the perspectives of impact on people and planet and how sustainability topics influence its ability to generate value​.

    Contribute to setting Radiometer's strategic position and focus areas

    Create a north star on Radiometer's strategic position​ and focus areas, based on the DMA outcomes.

    Inform a topline roadmap for integration

    Radiometer sought to create a topline framework for integration and we informed their recommendations to integrate their priorities into Radiometer's business strategy.

  • The approach

    Over four months, Radiometer underwent The Pivot’s four-stage process. We collected input from some 250 people—leaders, associates, customers, suppliers and subject-matter experts —and held six workshops. These helped identify opportunities and risks, prioritize topics, chart impacts and integrate findings in the strategy process.

    Input to the DMA:

    The Big Picture to 2035: Societal changes relevant to the diagnostics sector that provided an outside-in perspective on sustainability leadership for the business and customers.

    Rating & value chain: Evaluated some 28 environmental, social and business conduct topics across ESRS topic categories with subject-matter experts. Workshops helped to map material topics based on their impacts along the value chain and to validate rating outcomes.

    Outreach: Interviews with customers, distributors worldwide. Conducted an associate survey to gauge how sustainability delivers value for employees.

    Transform & communicate: In workshops with Radiometer's core team, we set the ambition level for each material topic, built on the sustainability framework and articulated recommendations to the business strategy.

    The approach

  • The learnings

    On the sector’s sustainability journey:

    We can expect 5.4% growth in health expenditure compared to 4.6% growth in GDP (US) to 2031. (Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, 2023)

    The sector is responsible for approximately 5% of global CO2 emissions and 84% of this currently comes from the supply chain. With no action, this will only rise with sector growth. (Global Road Map for Health Care Decarbonization, Healthcare Without Harm, 2021)

    There will be a global shortage of 12.9m healthcare workers by 2035. (WHO, 2023) Sustainability leadership helps attract the right talent to sector companies.

    An estimated USD 2-4 bn/year will be spent in health costs due to climate change by 2030. (WHO, 2021)

    Conclusions

    With the sector in the  business of saving lives, opportunities for engagement in sustainability are more visible than risks. 

    The sector is in a period of disruption, in part driven by regulation in Europe on CSRD and chemicals use and inspired by leadership in other sectors like life sciences.

    Circular solutions are a long-term key to leadership in the sector. This calls for doing business differently - including challenging current business models for single -use plastics. 

    Photo: ipopba