BioRegion of Catalonia accelerates its road to sustainability: more eco-aware initiatives from organizations

Climate change is happening, and people are dying because of it¹. Paradoxically, the life sciences and healthcare sector, which works to protect and improve people’s health, has become one of the main causes of pollution, endangering people’s wellbeing. To get an idea of its impact, the healthcare sector is responsible for 5.2% of global net greenhouse gas emissions, more than twice the climate footprint of the aviation industry².

However, more and more institutions are actively working to fight climate change, adopting measures to reduce their carbon footprint. One example of this commitment can be seen in the results of a current study, which revealed that 80% of Catalan healthcare organizations have implemented energy efficiency measures and 67% use renewable energy. In terms of the circular economy, the data compiled shows that nearly 80% of organizations are working to eliminate single use plastics and 56% have incorporated reusable material³.

Coinciding with the recent 9th Anniversary of the 2030 Agenda, we are presenting, for the fourth year in a row, new environmental sustainability initiatives we have identified over the past year in the BioRegion of Catalonia to raise awareness in the sector and showcase good practices being implemented by various ecosystem stakeholders.

Main sources of pollution in the sector

First, however, it is important to understand that the life sciences and healthcare sector has a complex, multifaceted impact on the environment, mainly from four sources:

• Power use: Hospitals and other healthcare facilities use a lot of energy, as they operate non-stop and use power hungry equipment. One example is the ULT freezers that are essential for storing biological samples and medicines. It takes a lot of power to maintain their extremely low temperatures, often near -80 °C⁴
• Water use: Science and healthcare facilities use a lot of water, for hygiene, preventing infections, sterilization and heating and cooling systems. In fact, some studies have shown that a healthcare professional uses 10 times more water than an office worker⁵.
• Waste generated: The sector produces huge amounts of waste, including hazardous materials (chemical, biological and radioactive) and single use plastics. If we look at hospitals, each hospitalized patient generates 7 kg of solid waste per day on average⁶. Likewise, laboratories end up disposing of up to 8 kg of biomedical waste⁷ at the end of each day.
• The emissions from manufacturing, packaging and transporting the products used in the healthcare sector also have a huge impact. There are several tools to calculate the emissions from processes in healthcare centers. The most commonly used is ScopeCO2.

Environmental sustainability actions in the BioRegion of Catalonia over the past year

Let’s look at some of the actions organizations in the BioRegion of Catalonia have taken since the previous Biocat article on sustainability, published in October 2023, to mitigate their pollution from the main sources discussed above:

Reducing power use: 

1. Viladecans Hospital has started using a geothermal system for heating and hot water, making them a pioneer in this type of energy source. Geothermal power uses heat underground to generate thermal and electrical energy. 
2. The Barcelona Biomedical Research Park (PRBB) has renovated its data center, replacing old refrigerant gas cooling equipment with much more sustainable machines that use water.
3. IDIBELL has increased the temperature on its ULT freezers from -80 °C to -70 °C in order to save power and curb emissions from these devices, as well as upgrading 10 freezers to cut 4.2 tons of CO2 a year, equivalent to nearly 5 households. This research institute has also launched the IDIBELL Green Team, a work group that aims to promote more eco-friendly research. 
4. Hospital de Barcelona has inaugurated solar panels to generate renewable energy.
5. Hospital del Mar has installed the first solar panels on the new building of its expansion, on the roof of the B1 building. In total, they will have 1,600 m2 of solar panels, the rest on the roof of the new C building, for a total of 475 panels producing more than 250 kWp. This will reduce the hospital’s carbon footprint by about 200 tons of CO2 per year.
    

Conserving water:

1. Fundació Salut Empordà has rolled out 30 actions to reduce water use over the past year. Some of them include cleaning the hospital façade with water from the purification plant, not watering green zones and decreasing water pressure in the hospital and social health center. Plus, they put in new metering faucets, among other initiatives.
2. The University of Barcelona (UB) launched an initiative to curb water use this summer through ‘The Planet App’, using gamification to encourage people to save water, with different goals and rewards for meeting weekly challenges.
3. The Vic Hospital Consortium installed a system to reuse wastewater from hemodialysis units, in the ICU and water heaters, cutting water use at the Vic University Hospital by around 25%. 
    

Generating less waste:

1. The Col·legi de Farmacèutics de Barcelona and AstraZeneca launched a campaign called “Jo t’ajudo a respirar, tu m’ajudes a reciclar” (I help you breathe, you help me recycle) to encourage patients to use inhalers correctly and recycle them afterward through SIGRE. This action could help cut CO2 emissions by 350 tons a year. 
2. Mollet University Hospital installed an anesthetic gas scavenging system, making them the first center in Catalonia with this system that eliminates waste gases and decreases their carbon footprint. The same hospital recently won the 2024 IHF Award for low carbon emissions in healthcare.
3. Pharmaceutical packaging company MITO purchased refurbished computer materials. In previous years, they swapped PVC plastic for PET, which is recyclable, and installed solar panels to generate energy.
4. Hospital Clinic Barcelona has saved over 390,000 plastic bags over the past year by using the ProTube system to take samples for the lab. Plus, the center offset the carbon footprint from its Open Clinic event through the Government of Catalonia Voluntary Emissions Offset Program. Thanks to this action, the event was certified by B’Greenly, which assesses and certifies event sustainability according to strict environmental criteria.
5. The Vic Hospital Consortium launched a circular economy project with the Trueta Foundation to reuse fabric and replace rubber draw sheets with recycled fabric protectors. 
6. This year, Roka Furadada presented ROKA Smart UV® ITM 330, a patented encapsulated photo-adaptive UV absorber that provides personalized solar protection that adapts to the intensity of the sun. Being encapsulated makes it more eco-friendly: the capsules are biocompatible and prevent the ITM 330 from being released into the water or interacting with it in any way.

Other startups and scaleups that are continuing their sustainability actions include Vytrus Biotech, which won the Platinum Ecovadis 2024 award this year; Integra Therapeutics, which recently received official sustainability certification from My green lab⁸; and Sunshineoxygen Healthtech, a sustainability consultancy for healthtech companies.
 

Improved packaging and logistics:

1. The Barcelona Science Park (PCB) kicked off a work group this year to coordinate and optimize reception of orders from suppliers for more than one laboratory. This initiative seeks to centralize shipments so the laboratories won’t each place separate orders, which often leads to multiple shipments, inefficient resource management and increased emissions from transportation. More information will be available soon on their website. 
2. Almirall has implemented a sustainable procurement program as an umbrella for various initiatives, including sustainability audits for key suppliers. Through these assessments, the company ensures suppliers meet their sustainability standards.
3. The Grifols Diagnostics business unit, with production at the plant in Parets del Vallès, has redesigned the packaging for their DG Gel cards to use more eco-friendly materials. Specifically, the new packaging includes 100% recycled cardboard and a safer, more eco-friendly varnish. Plus, the packaging will now have a symbol indicating it can be recycled and showing the recycled raw materials used in making it. This same company has revalidated its environmental credentials, making the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI World) for the third year in a row and the Dow Jones Sustainability Europe Index (DJSI Europe) for the fourth. 
4. The pharmaceutical packaging company MITO states that “the cosmetics and pharmaceutical sectors are adopting measures for greater sustainability in packaging.” On one hand, plastic in promotional packaging is being replaced by cardboard. On the other, there is a shift toward PET-R plastic, a 100% recyclable material containing between 20% and 30% recycled plastic, instead of PVC, which is non-recyclable and polluting.
    

Transportation optimization:

1. Fundació Hospital d’Olot has started a pilot program to use drones to deliver biological samples, pharmacology products and medical equipment between healthcare centers, mainly in rural areas. This initiative reduces the hospital’s carbon footprint compared to road transportation. 
2. The ISGlobal travel policy prioritizes low carbon emissions journeys, but when flying is the only option they put 2% of the cost of the flight towards planting trees through the Bosques Sostenibles initiative.  
3. The Vic Hospital Consortium has launched a new fleet of cars (8 electric and 1 hybrid) for professionals in the PADES (home care) and home rehabilitation services. This way, the newest vehicles for courier and transport services between centers are now zero emissions. 

Regarding specialized investment funds in Catalonia, Aliath Bioventures and Ship2B Ventures share the goal of having a positive impact on society and the environment. The venture capital manager, which has a portfolio of 29 startups (6 added since July 2023), published its 2024 Impact Report which showed it leveraged €29 million for innovative circular economy solutions, solutions to improve quality of life, lighten the load on the public healthcare system or help preserve ecosystems. Some of the most noteworthy data from the report includes that the capital invested has prevented 3,386 tons of CO2 from being emitted and saved 7,500,000 m³ of water.

Other initiatives boosting environmental awareness in the sector include: the Sustainable Research Catalonia (SuRe-Cat) research group, with nearly 20 research entities in Catalonia working to make the research ecosystem more sustainable; the BIST Sustainability Handbook, with data on the environmental impact of scientific research and tips for mitigating it; and an R&D project to develop biodegradable bioplastics from agrifood waste to be used in the healthcare sector, promoted by Inteplast with Eurecat, VEnvirotech Biotechnology and the Polytechnic University of Catalonia (UPC). In this context, the Catalan Institute of Health (ICS) approved a new environmental policy, committing to environmental sustainability, in line with the principles of planetary health to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Biocat: contributing to the sector’s sustainability

Biocat, as a catalyst for the life sciences and healthcare ecosystem in Catalonia, is also helping make the BioRegion of Catalonia more sustainable. The new Biocat Strategic Plan 2024-2027 sees sustainability as a fundamental, transversal element of our vision for the sector’s future, aware that human health is intrinsically tied to the health of our planet. 

Under the framework of European projects, the organization has taken part in BIOMAN4R2, connecting small and medium-sized enterprises in biomanufacturing and medical technology with service providers. This initiative strives to address specific needs in training, production and internationalization, aiming to enhance their competitiveness and encourage more sustainable practices. 

At the same time, Biocat played an active role in the project on the circular economy in the healthcare sector led by Club EMAS with support from the Waste Agency of Catalonia. This initiative is a significant step towards implementing more sustainable practices in the healthcare arena. Plus, there has been a notable increase in Biocat’s presence at events on sustainability in the sector. In February 2025, there will be a panel discussion on this topic at the presentation of the 2024 BioRegion of Catalonia Report (February 17), and the Sahlgrenska Global Health Hackathon 2024-2025 will be in Barcelona on February 22, 2025, with environmental sustainability among the key topics.

With these initiatives and others still to come, Biocat strives to make the life sciences and healthcare ecosystem more conscious and committed to sustainability, showing that healthcare innovation and environmental awareness are not only compatible but also essential to society’s future wellbeing.

1. Pollution and health: a progress Update, Lancet Planet Health, 2022 
2. COP28 Health Day, United Nations Development Programme, 2023 
3. Environmental Sustainability in the Health and Social Sector, Health and Social Consortium of Catalonia, 2023
4. Sustainability and Energy Savings Can Go Hand in Hand in Laboratories, Pompeu Fabra University, 2023
5. Efficient water delivery is vital for healthcare climate resilience, Hospital Times, 2021 
6. On Ultratrails and Sustainable Hospitals, Official College of Physicians of Barcelona, 2022
7. On Lab Safety and Sustainability: Common Lab Waste That Can Be Recycled, Inernation Enviro Guard, 2023 
8. Integra Therapeutics, Officially Sustainable