Takeda and Boston Medical Center Partner to Cut Health Care Emissions

Takeda and Boston Medical Center (BMC) have launched a strategic partnership aimed at developing innovative solutions to reduce hard-to-abate greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions within the health care sector.

This collaboration focuses on addressing GHG emissions caused by the disposal of regulated medical waste, including pharmaceutical packaging and single-use plastics, which pose some of the most complex environmental challenges in the industry. By working together, Takeda and BMC not only aim to reduce these emissions, but also to share the insights and solutions with other health care organizations to encourage widespread adoption and drive industrywide progress in decarbonization.

The partnership’s key objective is to identify, pilot and disseminate effective decarbonization strategies that can be implemented by other health care organizations seeking to lower their GHG. This will involve collaborating with stakeholders such as suppliers, waste management vendors and packaging providers to establish new best practices that are both practical and scalable.

As part of this initiative, BMC will conduct waste audits in critical clinical areas to identify major sources of emissions and explore new technologies aimed at reducing emissions from regulated medical waste disposal, particularly pharmaceutical packaging. BMC, known for its leadership in sustainability, has received multiple Practice Greenhealth Top 25 Environmental Excellence Awards.

Among its many environmental initiatives, BMC is the first hospital in the country to use a rooftop solar array to provide energy bill credits to patients facing energy insecurity. The hospital also has built two rooftop farms that supply fresh produce for its food pantry, patient meals and local community organizations. Additionally, BMC opened the nation’s first net-zero, energy-ready behavioral health facility and was the first nonprofit health care organization in the U.S. to issue sustainability bonds, raising $232 million for campus renovations to enhance patient care.

Through this collaboration, Takeda and BMC aim to foster a culture of sustainability across the health care industry, helping organizations of all sizes to reduce their environmental impact while improving patient and community health outcomes.