This spring, Labour plans to unveil its 10-year NHS strategy, focusing on illness prevention, local care, and digital transformation. It promises to be a defining moment shaping both the future of our publicly funded health service and the party who founded it.
While Wes Streeting prioritises cutting waiting times, implementing digital tech and drawing on the private sector to innovate the service, the NHS also has ambitious sustainability targets – aiming to become the first net-zero national health service by 2040 and targeting an 80% reduction in its emissions under its direct control by 2028 to 2032.
As the Government and health minister navigate these tests, sustainable IT can play a vital role in the future of the NHS.
Devices show direction of travel
The NHS has already begun to investigate the reuse and remanufacturing of medical devices to save money and help tackle its large waste footprint. The health service currently produces about 156,000 tons of clinical waste each year, equivalent to over 400 jumbo jets.
Leeds Teaching Hospitals Trust improved its finances by £100,000 by buying remanufactured catheters and selling used devices. According to the Government’s NHS waste crackdown, scaling this across the UK could save the NHS millions of pounds annually on catheters used for heart tests alone. Meanwhile, the reuse of walking aids has also brought substantial carbon savings.
If two out of every five walking aids were returned, a typical UK hospital could save nearly £50,000 a year. Reusing a refurbished walking aid also reduces carbon emissions by 98% compared with manufacturing a new model. Boosting the return rate over the next three years could cut carbon emissions by 7,400 tonnes, equivalent to about 300,000 car trips between London and Bristol.
Medical tools, however, are just the tip of the iceberg. The NHS is responsible for 4% of England’s total carbon footprint, so it must explore all avenues to bring a net-zero future for itself and the UK.
Second-life tech must take its place
While the NHS has implemented the reuse of devices, its IT estate is a largely untouched asset with the potential to shift the dial on sustainability.
Over the years, health trusts have spent huge amounts on their IT equipment and consistently favoured brand-new devices rather than extending device lifecycles and using remanufactured models. According to data from Freedom of Information requests, NHS Trusts spent £260m on 401,084 new PCs, at an average cost of £650.54 a box from 2013 to 2017. Fast forward to 2020 to 2021, and according to Oxygen Finance, £3.24 billion was spent on ICT-related services, a 33% increase from 2019 to 2020. Last October’s budget saw more than £2 billion announced in funding for NHS technology and digital transformation in 2025/26.
While digital transformation will help heal some of the NHS’s wounds, a new-at-all-costs tech procurement policy will open new ones.
Each laptop purchased by an NHS trust typically costs between £500 and £1,000, generating an average of about 331kg carbon emissions, due to the intense production phase of new equipment. This significantly impacts the service’s budget and sustainability goals.
Adopting the reuse model that we’ve seen for medical devices for tech procurement could save the NHS billions with no impact on performance. Remanufactured laptops, for example, cost 40% less than new models and are guaranteed by the BSI Kitemark to perform “equal to or better than new”. They are a compelling option as Streeting plans the future of the health service.
Ahead of the NHS 10-year strategy, the proof of second-life tech is already out there. A third (35%) of the UK ambulance service in England has been supplied with remanufactured devices from Circular Computing, while the King’s College Hospital Foundation Trust’s recent adoption of this hardware helped it cut 126.4 tons of carbon emissions as well as saving 76 million litres of water over an 18-month period.
As the Government looks to safeguard the NHS, addressing its sustainability goals while delivering value for money, second-life IT is the ace up Wes Streeting’s sleeve. There can be no excuse for not playing it.
Steve Haskew, Group Director of Sustainability and Growth, Circular Computing
In his role as Group Director of Sustainability and Growth, Steve Haskew leads on defining, developing, and implementing the CSR strategy for Circular Computing. His vision is a key driver of growth across the business and ultimately looks at achieving a reduction in carbon footprint.
Whilst being at the helm of Circular Computing’s sustainability strategy, Haskew has been the driving force behind Circular Computing’s industry first milestone, which saw the business receive the renowned BSI Kitemark certification. He is also leading on helping the business achieve other sustainability targets, including funding the planting of 1 million trees by March 2023 and reaching Net Zero carbon footprint by 2030.
An industry veteran of over 40 years – Steve’s career has so far spanned numerous roles and responsibilities, including pioneering and defining the role of the ITAD (IT Asset Disposition), reverse logistics and the principles of re-use in the 1980’s and 1990’s.
As a keynote speaker on decarbonisation and Circular Economy strategy, Steve has directly helped to re-shape how corporate IT is produced and consumed, shifting behaviour to create meaningful sustainability impacts that can be measured and reported.
About Circular Computing™
Circular Computing™ is the global leader in the remanufacturing of laptops, on a mission to create a more ethical, sustainable, and socially responsible way to buy enterprise grade IT.
Operating from its state-of-the-art remanufacturing facility, Circular Computing has the world’s first and only BSI Kitemark™ for remanufactured laptops, certifying that it produces products ‘equal to or better than new’ as required by the BS standard 8887. Through its 360-point stage Circular Remanufacturing Process, Circular Computing delivers HP, Dell and Lenovo laptops that look and perform like new, all whilst ensuring carbon-neutral processes and end-product.
Circular Computing’s remanufacturing process delivers the innovative alternative to ‘new’, going above and beyond a cosmetically improved finish to ensure an intense focus on performance and reliability. Through its support of worldwide sustainability projects, every Circular Computing™ laptop is also a certified carbon neutral product.
Please visit: www.circularcomputing.com
