10 Levers to Sustainable Product Innovation

Sharing our insights to Sustainable Product Innovation, focus on Health Tech 

At Pd-m we are a team of passionate change-makers who have the skills, experience, and knowledge to help organisations on their journey towards Net Zero. Here we share ‘10 levers’ you can pull to achieve commercially viable, sustainable product innovation solutions.

As the Health Tech industry in the United Kingdom strives to achieve net-zero emissions, sustainable product innovation has become an urgent priority. Driven by the nation's ambitious climate goals and a growing demand for more sustainable solutions. Health Tech companies are exploring strategies to reduce their environmental footprint, improve margin whilst enhancing patient outcomes. 

The path to sustainability requires a holistic approach, encompassing every stage of the product life cycle, from material sourcing to end-of-life management. To navigate this complex landscape, we're sharing ten levers that Health Tech organisations can leverage to drive sustainable innovation.

1. Transportation Optimisation: Streamlining transportation routes, modes, and logistics can significantly reduce carbon emissions associated with product distribution. This includes strategies such as adopting electric vehicles, improved forecasting, and sourcing materials and components locally to minimise transportation distances.

2. Advanced Manufacturing: Embracing cutting-edge manufacturing techniques like additive manufacturing (3D printing), automation, and digital manufacturing can enhance resource efficiency, reduce waste, and enable more sustainable production processes. These technologies open up new opportunities for on-demand, localised production and smart factory solutions that optimise energy and material usage.

3. Onshoring, Reshoring and Nearshoring: This can dramatically reduce transportation emissions and support local economies. By bringing manufacturing closer to home, Health Tech organisations can build resilience against global factors as well as building stronger collaborations to implement sustainable practices up the supply chain.

4. User-Centred Design: Understanding user needs and behaviours through comprehensive user research and co-design can lead to more efficient and sustainable product designs that better meet user requirements, reducing waste and extending product life cycles.

5. Sustainable Packaging: Adopting sustainable packaging solutions, such as biodegradable or recycled materials, can minimise environmental impact by reducing waste and enabling circularity. This includes exploring alternatives to single-use plastics and exploring reusable packaging or take-back programs.

6. Circular Economy Principles: Embracing circular economy principles, such as product life extension, 'product as a service and re-manufacturing, and can significantly reduce waste and resource consumption. This involves designing products that are more durable but also have considerations for disassembly, repair, and material recovery.

7. Light weighting: Reducing product weight through strategic material selection and design optimisation can lower emissions and costs. This can be achieved through techniques like finite element analysis, tool optimization and material substitution.

8. Modular Design: Modular product designs enable easier repair, upgrade, and re-manufacturing, extending product life cycles and reducing waste. This involves designing products with standardised interfaces and interchangeable components, facilitating maintenance, upgrades, and component reuse.

9. Sustainable Care Pathways: Optimising care pathways and integrating digital solutions can improve patient outcomes while reducing resource consumption and emissions. This includes strategies like remote monitoring, virtual consultations, and streamlining care processes to minimise unnecessary resource use and travel.

10. Sustainable Materials: Selecting sustainable and responsibly sourced materials, such as bio-based or recycled materials, can reduce environmental impact and support circularity. Collaboration is needed with suppliers and QA/RA teams to ensure adherence to standards.

By addressing these ten levers holistically, Health Tech companies in the UK can drive sustainable innovation, reduce their environmental footprint, and contribute to the nation's net zero goals while improving patient outcomes and healthcare delivery.

The journey toward sustainability in the Health Tech sector is not without challenges, but it presents a unique opportunity for companies to pioneer innovative solutions that not only benefit the environment but also enhance patient care and foster long-term business resilience.

If you would like to learn more about how we can help you on your net zero journey, contact our Sustainability Lead Rich Shaw or book a free consultation here.

Watch, as Rich Shaw explores the 3 levers he finds most interesting and talked about during the Med-Tech Expo!

Med-Tech Innovation Expo 2024

Pd-m had the pleasure of connecting with industry professionals at the MedTech Innovation Expo 2024, an interactive, insightful and efficient event, designed to meet the needs of the industry.

Pd-m hosted a panel session, “Levering Sustainability across the Industry”, with thought provoking discussions with industry leaders from organizations of various sizes. Panellists include, Addie MacGregor (ABHI), Richard Cohen (Pennine Healthcare), Clare Brooke (Boston Scientific), Tom Dawson (Revolution ZERO) with our very own sustainability lead, Rich Shaw, as the moderator.

The panelists stressed the importance of having consistent policies across countries, making sustainability a top priority in all regions, strengthening sustainable manufacturing and supply chains in the UK, working closely with local communities, and designing products with sustainability and current manufacturing methods in mind.
Read more about the panel discussion here.

Our theme this year, "Are you pulling all the levers to Sustainable Innovation," sparked a complex debate on our stand about the strategies and approaches required to drive sustainable practices within the industry.

The team shared their thought leadership insights, inspiring delegates to rethink their approach to sustainability and adopt more holistic design practices. Different perspectives showcased how the med-tech industry is rapidly progressing towards net zero practices, despite ongoing challenges.
Read more about our exhibit here.

As an official partner with Medilink Midlands, a prominent organization in the Midlands HealthTech community, Pd-m is thrilled to offer its expertise in carbon reduction plans and the "Innovate to Zero" program.

This partnership aligns with the company's previous collaboration with the HRC, further solidifying its commitment to driving sustainable practices within the industry.

Moving forward, we look forward to fostering a vibrant community dedicated to innovation and sustainability in healthcare.

Pd-m encourages industry professionals to reach out and explore collaboration opportunities, as collective efforts are crucial to addressing environmental challenges and promoting a more sustainable future for the healthcare sector.

To learn more, reach out!

Innovate to Zero Webinar

We are pleased to share that we hosted an insightful webinar on "Making sustainability an opportunity to reduce carbon and cost" in partnership with Bionow.

Expertly arranged by bionow's Dave Holmes, we had a thought provoking discussion with great panelists like Michelle Sullivan, Sustainability Chair (ABHI), who spoke about how with NHS England guidelines it is high time companies focus on carbon reduction. We were also joined by Pennine Healthcare’s CEO, Graeme Cameron, who talked about a ground up approach to inculcate sustainability in a company's culture.

Our sustainability lead, Richard Shaw gave critical insights about
-NHS net zero roadmap
-What scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions typically look like for device manufacturers
-CRP Insights
-Innovate to zero - a practical strategy to reduce carbon and cost through design and innovation.

Our speakers demonstrated that sustainability offers compelling business advantages, from cost savings and efficiency gains to strong branding and being an employer of choice. We covered practical steps organizations of all sizes can take, like designing light, reducing waste, and local manufacturing options.

There was insightful engagement during the interactive Q&A session hosted by CEO of Pd-m, Richard Hall, a sign that sustainability is top of mind.

As Michelle wisely put it, "One who believes infinite growth is possible in a finite environment is either a madman or an economist." Wise words to lead by.

If you have additional questions, we’re happy to discuss further. We look forward to continuing this momentum in the weeks and months ahead, and as ever, a huge thank you to all our attendees for being a part of a great event.

If you'd like to get in touch to find out more, please reach out to us with a Linked-In message or email at, sustainability@pd-m.com .

New Partnership

We're very pleased to make this announcement!

NIHR HRC in Accelerated Surgical Care and Pd-m Partner to Lead Sustainable Healthtech Innovation

We are thrilled to share that the NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) Accelerated Surgical Care HealthTech Research Centre has announced a strategic partnership with Pd-m, to drive sustainable HealthTech innovation.

Under this collaboration, Pd-m will provide guidance and implementation support to HealthTech innovators working with the HRC, enabling new technologies to align with net zero milestones and be optimized for a carbon-conscious world.

This partnership aims to set the standard for developing and delivering sustainable medical technologies and innovations. By embedding sustainability from the product development stage, the HRC and Pd-m will work together to meet the increasing demands of the Net Zero agenda and support the NHS's carbon reduction commitments.

This combines the HRC's healthcare expertise with Pd-m's experience in sustainable innovation and 'Innovate to Zero' agenda through sustainable design.

If you're inquisitive to know more about this will help you, then please reach out to us via direct mail, email richard@pd-m.com.

Breaking the Barriers to Innovation

Following our successful participation at Surgtech 2024, the Pd-m team embarked on an illuminating interview series with prominent delegates. Our goal was to gain first-hand perspectives on the key barriers hindering innovation in the medical technology field.

We conducted short interviews with leaders from University of Leeds, HistoSonics, OstomyCure, regional healthcare innovators, and regulatory experts.

The insights revealed systemic obstacles spanning funding constraints, regulatory complexities, lack of real-world evidence, organizational silos inhibiting collaboration, difficulties defining target populations and value propositions, and more.

Experts like Ian Newington highlighted how innovators often forge ahead without fully understanding the true clinical needs - resulting in misaligned solutions. He emphasized the importance of comprehensive user insights.

Others like Varaidzo Mapunde and Pete Culmer pointed to a lack of interdisciplinary knowledge sharing and collaboration across the vast healthcare ecosystem. Building partnerships to navigate development and commercialization pathways is critical.

Stringent regulations and approval body constraints were cited as major hurdles by Kevin Kiely and Al Mills. They recommended proactive compliance planning, agility amid evolving guidelines, and robust evidence generation.

Defining populations, demonstrating health economic value, and integrating sustainability were identified as challenges by Joshua King. He advocated rigorous research, economic modeling, and collaborative ecosystems.

The difficulties of validating solutions for practical NHS implementation were expounded on by Neville Young, highlighting co-creation with providers and rollout roadmaps.

Funding and regulatory barriers loomed large for Graeme L. Smith, who stressed investor outreach, regulatory strategies, public-private partnerships, and accelerators.

"Speaking with all these brilliant minds really drove home how complex the HealthTech innovation journey is," reflected our CEO, Richard Hall. "But it also showed there are absolutely ways to overcome every hurdle if we're strategic and inclusive from the start."

By confronting obstructions through prudent policies, synergistic collaborations and practical resources, we aim to create a sustainable environment for medical breakthroughs to flourish. Our comprehensive approach exemplifies our commitment to advancing technologies that improve patient care and propel the healthcare industry forward.

SurgTech 2024

We recently had the pleasure of participating in Surgtech 2024, the premier conference exploring the latest surgical technology innovations. Hosted by NIHR (National Institute for Health and Care Research) HRC on March 21-22 in Leeds, the two-day event provided an excellent forum for learning, networking and sharing our expertise.

In the lead up to Surgtech, we announced our speakers Richard Hall and Richard Shaw would be presenting on healthcare funding landscapes and promoting sustainability in surgical technologies respectively. We also teased an interactive word cloud activity planned for our exhibition booth to gather insights on barriers to innovation.

Day one kicked off with an inspiring opening speech by Vee Mapunde emphasizing the increasing importance of considering sustainability early in health technology projects. This set the tone for our messaging around adopting eco-friendly practices. Later that afternoon, our Sustainability Lead Rich Shaw gave a well-attended talk demonstrating cost benefits medical device companies can realize by going green.

The second day featured an engaging panel discussion with Shaw exploring how embedding sustainability into value propositions can unlock more funding opportunities for startups. We enjoyed this insightful dialogue alongside Dr. Graeme Howling, Emma Glass and others.

A highlight throughout the conference was our interactive word cloud visualizer. We were delighted by the level of engagement as 106 attendees contributed their thoughts in real-time on the biggest obstacles to fostering innovation in surgical tech. An analysis revealed funding constraints, regulatory hurdles, lack of clinical evidence and insufficient collaboration among the top barriers mentioned.

These findings reinforced what we've long suspected - that MedTech innovators face systemic hurdles on multiple fronts. As purpose-driven consultants, we are committed to helping clients navigate and overcome these challenges through inclusive, sustainable practices that demonstrate clear user benefits.

We'd like to thank all the attendees who stopped by our booth to participate in the word cloud activity and engage with our team. The connections made and perspectives gleaned over the productive two days will undoubtedly prove invaluable as we continue supporting innovation that advances patient care.