28 May 2025

Min Na Eii

After setting up Pharmacy Declares in the UK, the group discovered a strong desire among pharmacy professionals to engage in greener pharmacy practices to collectively reduce waste, pollution, and address climate change. Like other healthcare professionals, pharmacy teams often encounter barriers such as time constraints, lack of resources (e.g., staffing shortages, financial limitations), and a lack of evidence-based guidance when implementing sustainable practices. There is an increasing risk of greenwashing by suppliers, where carbon footprint data for products or services may not be readily available upon request. It is imperative for pharmacy professionals to develop the skills necessary to critically evaluate this data, particularly on claims of carbon neutrality. Multiple case studies, led by pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, have demonstrated that sustainable quality improvement projects can yield positive health, environmental, financial, and social outcomes. Several initiatives have generated substantial annual financial savings for hospitals, particularly through the reduction of nitrous oxide waste. Some projects have also improved productivity in pharmacy by reducing staff time spent on unnecessary activities in leaner, low carbon care pathways. Additionally, some projects have fostered cross-disciplinary collaboration within pharmacy, winning national and international awards that enhance workforce retention and job satisfaction. As the lead author of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society (RPS) greener pharmacy guides for hospital and community pharmacies, I have tried to address some of these barriers and encouraged behavioural changes by reinterpreting existing pharmacy practices through a sustainability lens. For example, by advising patients to only order necessary medications in their repeat prescriptions, we can prevent waste and improve population health. Each pharmaceutical product and medical device has a significant carbon footprint throughout its lifecycle, from manufacture to administration, contributing to global warming and climate change. The guides also recommend energy-saving methods in pharmacies, such as turning off lights or devices when not in use and transitioning to renewable energy sources. Fossil fuels are primary drivers of global climate change and air pollution, which adversely affect health. Pharmacy professionals play a crucial role in addressing broader social determinants of health when reviewing patients, beyond merely matching drugs to disease states. To tackle this global health threat, the current pharmacy workforce must be upskilled and trained in delivering sustainable healthcare. The Sustainability in Pharmacy Education (SPE) group in the UK has now got an academic sustainability lead in nearly every pharmacy school in the UK and has co-produced a sustainability undergraduate learning outcomes document endorsed by the Pharmacy Schools Council UK. Sustainability should be embedded in the undergraduate and postgraduate curriculum for the new pharmacy workforce to advance the net zero agenda. Pharmacy procurement teams can also incorporate sustainability criteria to promote greener supply chains. This has already been done in some Nordic countries which was presented at the European Association of Hospital Pharmacists’ Sustainable Healthcare conference 2024. Additionally, pharmacy organisations need to review existing policies or create new strategies to embed sustainability in optimising medicines use. There is a growing number of healthcare professionals advocating for sustainable healthcare, sometimes without pharmacy involvement. As experts in medicines, pharmacists should lead in implementing greener pharmacy practices in collaboration with our multidisciplinary teams to drive sustainable changes.

Minna is a hospital pharmacist in Acute Medicine and works part time with the ambulance service as an urgent care pharmacist in the North East of England. She completed an MSc in Environment and Human Health in 2022 and became the Chief Sustainability Officer’s Clinical Fellow 2023/24 with NHS England, hosted by South East London Integrated Care Board. Minna is currently the Chair of Sustainability at the Guild of Healthcare Pharmacists and the project consultant for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society’s Greener Pharmacy Guides. Minna and her colleagues in the UK co-founded Pharmacy Declares, a group of environmentally conscious pharmacy professionals calling for divestments, climate-health education and leadership in the pharmacy profession. She has published in several peer reviewed journals on the subject of sustainable healthcare in relation to pharmacy practice and pharmaceuticals. She has also contributed to the FIP statement of policy on environmental sustainability within pharmacy, published in 2023.