Sustainability of life and global business productivity directly depends on the health of biodiversity, ecosystems and ecosystem services. As per the New Nature Economic Report 20201, more than half of the world’s GDP, about US$ 44 trillion, is moderately or highly dependent on nature and its services.

Like any other sector, the healthcare industry (HCI) impacts biodiversity through its operations and supply chains. According to the Economic Survey 2022-2023 of the Govt. of India, HCI accounts for 2.1% of the GDP in FY 2022-23, while its contribution to total carbon emissions is 1.5% compared to the global average of 4.4%. According to a study report2 presented by Health Care Without Harm, an international NGO, in collaboration with Arup, India figures among the top ten countries that account for 75 per cent of the global healthcare climate footprint. However, the total emission from the sector by volume is significant. Thus, the protection, restoration and conservation of BES assume importance.

Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services

It is estimated that around 8.7 million species exist on Earth, while only 1.27 million are known to science. In the last 500 years, human activity is known to have forced 869 species to extinction (or extinction in the wild), of which nearly 500 species have vanished in the last 100 years.

Ecosystems support different types of habitats that harbours a variety of interacting species, whose interactions among themselves and with their abiotic components enable the ecosystem to render different types of services beneficial to man and other life forms. This variability and variety of species and their ecosystems constitute the biodiversity of that geographical entity.

The Convention on Biodiversity (CBD)3 of 1992 has defined Biodiversity as “the variability among living organisms from all sources including inter alia terrestrial, marine and other ecosystems and the ecological complexes of which they are a part; this includes diversity within species, between species and of ecosystems.”Ecosystem services can be defined as “the benefits that people obtain from ecosystems” or as “the direct and indirect contributions of ecosystems to human well-being.”

Biodiversity as Natural Capital for Health Care Sector

The HCI is indeed dependent on biodiversity in several ways. Here are some key aspects of HCI’s reliance on biodiversity:

• Medicinal Resources: A vast array of plants, animals, and microorganisms that serve as a source of medicinal compounds and acts as a crucial reservoir of potential pharmaceutical compounds.
• Traditional Medicine: Traditional medical systems rely heavily on biodiversity;
• Genetic Diversity: The genetic diversity is essential for the development of new treatments, and developing personalized medicine approaches. Genetic engineering and Bioprospecting, rely on the Nature’s genetic diversity.

Overall, Biodiversity can be considered as the Natural Capital for HCI.

Health Care Sector Impacts on Biodiversity

The healthcare sector encompasses various industries that are involved in providing medical goods, services, and support. Some major types of industries include

• Hospitals and Diagnostics centres;
• Pharmaceuticals
• Medical devices manufacturing and service centers
• Biotechnology and Research centers
• Nursing homes and Rehabilitation Centers;
• Raw material suppliers
• Biomedical Wastes treatment plants

All these can have adverse impacts on BES through its operations and supply chains.

The GHG emissions from the sector are significant and it can promote climate change. The wastes generated are toxic and hazardous and may have high potential to pollute soils, water bodies and degradation of habitats, besides spreading infectious diseases. All these adverse impacts may affect the sustainability of life, particularly the well-being of humans, their crops, livestock and BES. Thus, HCI must play a vital role in mitigating impacts on BES.

Mitigation Approaches and Standards

Although no specific biodiversity standards exclusively apply to HCI, broader sustainability and environmental standards can be adopted to minimize the industry’s impact on biodiversity. Among different international standards, CCBS (Climate, Community and Biodiversity Standard) 4 is most widely followed by the international community. The Standard requires that all the company’s stakeholders, including those in the supply chain, be assessed for their BES-friendly activities.

Projects that meet the CCBS adopt best practices to deliver net positive benefits for climate change mitigation, local communities and biodiversity. The CCBS is essential for all project planning and management phases, from design through implementation and monitoring. The CCB Program identifies land management projects that deliver net positive benefits for climate change mitigation, local communities and biodiversity. The CCB Program can be combined very effectively with a carbon accounting standard such as, for example, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) or the Verified Carbon Standard (VCS). CCBS provides a basis for evaluating a project’s social and environmental impacts, while the carbon accounting standard verifies and registers quantified greenhouse gas emissions reductions or removals. In this way, the CCB Program is used to verify the social and environmental benefits generated by a project.

Requirements for the CCBS can be divided into four stages. The first stage involves Biodiversity Impacts Assessment; Prioritization of the impacts based on their importance and criticality is the activity in the second stage. Preparation of the “Biodiversity Action Plan” is the 3rd stage, while the final stage is validation and verification. At all the steps, all the stakeholders need to be engaged. Still, the last set of activities, Validation and Verification, must be done by an independent third-party consultant organization accredited by IAB (International Accreditation Board) or any of its member boards, like NABCB in India. The Validation and Verification bodies are accredited by Verra, an international certification body.

Successful CCB verification enables the addition of a permanent marker, the CCB label, to a GHG credit listed on a registry to indicate that the verified emission reductions or removals represented by that credit were issued from a project which satisfies and is confirmed to the CCB rules. The credits issued are called VCU (Verified Carbon Units), a name Verra gave to one ton of CO2 removal and/or reduction.

Before going for CCBS, all HCI projects can initiate the following practices that can easily pave the way for achieving CCBS and making their project Net Positive towards Biodiversity and Climate Change footprints.

1. Sustainable sourcing: Adopt sustainable procurement practices, which include sourcing products and materials from suppliers that follow responsible environmental rules. This can include selecting suppliers that prioritize sustainable harvesting of natural ingredients, reducing deforestation, and avoiding the use of endangered species.

2. Waste management: HCI generates significant amounts of waste, including hazardous materials. Implementing proper waste management practices can minimize the negative impact on biodiversity.

3. Energy efficiency: By implementing energy-efficient technologies and practices, reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas emissions.

4. Water conservation: Efficient water management enables protection of the vital resource and protects aquatic and wetland ecosystems.

5. Green building certifications: Adopting green building standards, like LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), can promote biodiversity-friendly practices.

6. Collaboration and awareness: HCI can collaborate with environmental organizations and research institutions to better understand the industry’s impact on biodiversity and develop strategies for improvement and raising awareness among staff and patients about biodiversity conservation.

While these are general guidelines, healthcare organizations should also consider the specific regional or national regulations and guidelines related to biodiversity and environmental sustainability. It is essential that these programmes need to be planned, executed and reviewed with the support of professional independent consultancy organisations and biodiversity experts.

Additionally, engaging with sustainability-focused organizations and industry associations can provide further guidance on implementing biodiversity-friendly practices in the healthcare sector. The Indian Government has recently introduced the Green Credits programme, which may help further strengthen the Best Management Practices in BES.