Norwegian health authorities are committed to international environmental requirements

This means, among other things, stricter requirements for emissions and material use for suppliers to the health sector, writes the health authority Hospital purchasing.

The collaboration is an extension of Norway’s commitment to the health program during the climate conference in Glasgow 2021. Some 50 countries signed this agreement, and subsequently the health authorities in Great Britain (NHS) and the United States have drawn up a road map to achieve the goals in the agreement.

It is this road map, called the NHS Procurement Roadmap, that the Norwegian health authorities have now committed themselves to follow.

– We know that the greatest potential for emissions reduction lies in the value chain, i.e. everything we buy in. It is here that 70 to 80 percent of greenhouse gas emissions occur, says special advisor Maiken Pollestad Sele in Sykehusinnkjøp.

Therefore, the investment is largely aimed at the production and distribution stage before the orders reach the hospitals. One of the goals is for all suppliers to have a plan for the entire production and shipping chain, in line with the NHS’s targets for zero emissions, by April 2027.

The Norwegian Directorate of Health has also prepared a consultation draft to a Norwegian road map towards a sustainable, low-emission health service.