Japan-based pharmaceutical firm Takeda and Boston Medical Center (BMC) in the US have announced a new collaboration focused on identifying innovative solutions that can reduce hard-to-abate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in the healthcare sector.

The collaboration between Takeda and BMC aims to reduce the GHG emissions caused by disposal of regulated medical waste, such as pharmaceutical packaging and single-use plastics, which are among the most difficult environmental challenges facing the industry.

The effort will also seek to scale the interventions developed through the collaboration by sharing best practices to help other organizations adopt and learn new ways to decarbonise in their operations to drive wider healthcare ecosystem impact.

A key objective of this collaboration is to effectively identify, pilot and share valuable insights on decarbonisation solutions that other healthcare organisations can adopt as they also seek to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. This may include engaging with other industry stakeholders, such as suppliers, waste vendors, and packaging providers to share and establish new best practices and practical applications.

As a part of this collaboration, Boston Medical Center will conduct waste audits across key clinical areas to identify emission hotspots and pilot new technologies aimed at reducing emissions from the disposal of regulated medical waste, including pharmaceutical packaging. BMC, recognised with multiple Practice Greenhealth Top 25 Environmental Excellence Awards, is the first hospital in the nation to leverage a rooftop solar array to provide energy bill credit to eligible patients facing energy insecurity. The hospital built two rooftop farms supplying fresh produce for the hospital's food pantry, patient meals and local community organizations, and opened the first net-zero ready for energy behavioural health facility, among other leading initiatives. BMC was also the first nonprofit healthcare organisation in the country to issue sustainability bonds with a $232 million bond sale for campus renovations to better support patient care.

For Takeda, this collaboration supports its ambitious climate goal to reach net-zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in its operations by 2035 and across its value chain by 2040.