Trinity-led report: sustainability in healthcare offers huge opportunity

Posted on: 21 July 2026

In The Green Dividend: Why Sustainability is Ireland's Health and Enterprise Opportunity, the HIHI team outline why Ireland is well placed to lead a transition that pays off clinically, financially, and environmentally.

Authored by Eimear Galvin, Regional Manager, GreenTech lead, HIHI, the report comes to its conclusions after drawing on clinical pilots, international case studies, and lifecycle evidence in what is a rapidly evolving market.

The need for embedding sustainability in all sectors is of course increasing all the time, and with direct relevance to Irish SMEs exporting medical supplies to the UK, from April 2027 mandatory NHS supplier Carbon Reduction Plans will mean only companies with clinical validation and sustainability credentials will gain access to these markets.

“With over 450 medtech companies and deep life sciences talent, Ireland is a natural home for the sustainable alternatives this shift demands,” explained Eimear Galvin.

“And HIHI's GreenTech in Health programme – delivered with HSE Climate and Sustainability and the ICGP – provides the national infrastructure to test and scale innovations in real clinical settings. Building on the 2024 GreenTech market call and the GreenTech in Health Collective launched in 2025, the programme brings together policy, clinical, academic, state and industry partners to further the system-wide change required.”

Medtech innovators supported via HIHI programmes, Declan Lacey of MedFirst Supplies; Will Hogan of EccoSpray; Lisa O'Riordan of HaPPE Earth; Conor Connolly of Envetec; Oran Murphy of Vanguard. 

In the new report, two such piloted case studies that improve sustainability and deliver economic benefits are outlined, underlining the core message that such approaches can drive a win-win in clinical settings.

One is MedFirst Supplies’ Safe Clean Box, a pre-cleaning system for reusable medical devices, which offers an 82% energy reduction vs. traditional ultrasonic cleaners, saves 1,200 litres of water per day, and offers €32,000 in annual savings. And the other is EccoSpray’s Ultrasound Gel Alternative, which eliminates the need for single-use gel packets, reduces the gel needed by 95%, and saves roughly €125,000 per year nationally.

Crucially, the report doesn’t just outline the potential for success but roadmaps how we can get there, closing with recommendations for four key partners in the healthcare ecosystem:

• Dedicated funding for green procurement pilots (Department of Health).
• Full Scope 1–3 reporting and life cycle costing in procurement (HSE).
• Support for Irish life sciences companies to design ahead of the EU regulatory curve (Enterprise Ireland).
• Healthcare named as a priority sector in Ireland's Circular Economy Strategy (Department of Climate, Energy and the Environment).

The full report can be read on the HIHI site.

• Tags:
• Health
• Innovation
• Sustainability