The Lancet MedZero is designed for anyone working at the intersection of sustainability and healthcare.

This includes:

• Clinicians, supporting lower-carbon clinical decision-making and integration into quality improvement processes and pathway redesign
• Academics, incorporating carbon data into broader clinical, health system, and public health research
• HTA and procurement teams, informing sustainable procurement policies and the integration of carbon data into economic evaluations
• Health system leaders and policymakers, guiding strategy, planning, baselining, and national policy
• Industry partners, developing and benchmarking specific products and supply chains
• Funders and journals, incorporating sustainability considerations into research grants and academic papers, and guiding future strategic investments

Covering thousands of products, the Lancet MedZero takes a hierarchical modelling approach to generating high-quality carbon estimates across health systems, combining primary data and life cycle assessment (LCA), parametric modelling, and multi-regional input output (MRIO) methods depending on the user’s question.

Further details can be found in the Lancet MedZero Methodology.

High-quality LCA data from commissioned audits and the academic and grey literature are systematically reviewed, standardised, and reconfigured to reflect healthcare activities and care pathways. Where data is unavailable, a bespoke parametric model is used to estimate emissions based on key emissions drivers.

A purpose-built MRIO model provides system-wide coverage, capturing nationally specific materials and manufacturing emissions. This is combined with parametric modelling of product transport, use, and disposal to ensure full lifecycle representation and ensure higher-quality data for each individual user.

Taken together, this approach enables robust, transparent, and decision-relevant carbon analytics across healthcare systems.

The platform draws on a wide range of data sources used to generate comprehensive estimates across health systems.

All available published evidence has been systematically reviewed, including academic and grey literature, as well as a range of commissioned audits designed as part of the collaboration to target specific clinical contexts. Source data has been standardised and linked to individual products, services, and care pathways, with original citations available within the platform. Where appropriate, process-based assessments are developed in openLCA, drawing on databases including Ecoinvent (v3.11), with impacts characterised using the ReCiPe 2016 (Hierarchist) method. All life cycle inventory data derived from peer reviewed literature is checked by at least two technical experts from the Lancet MedZero’s academic partners, with further quality assurance processes (spot checks and underlying data from bespoke audits modelled twice by two partners independently) detailed in the methodology document.

Parametric models, particularly for pharmaceuticals, are informed by established standards, including PAS 2090 (BSI), ensuring consistency in the treatment of lifecycle stages and emissions boundaries. Complementing this, the platform draws on the latest version of GLORIA, paired with primary data provided by a number of hospitals and national health systems.

The data has been harmonised and mapped using standard classification systems, including UNSPSC, to enable consistent aggregation and comparison across settings. Where gaps remain, transparent assumptions and validated proxies are applied.

From the start, the collaboration has been designed to evolve. Its aim is to provide the best-available analytics for healthcare, improving continuously as new data, methods, and evidence emerge.

Contributions from across the community aren’t just welcome, they are essential. Data sets, methods, or analytical improvements that can strengthen the platform central to its improvement strategy.

When provided in a transparent and open way that can be independently verified, industry-generated data will almost always be best-in-class. To this end, the platform strongly encourages engagement and data from the pharmaceutical and medical device sectors.

If you or your organisation believe you can help, click here to provide input to the collaboration and get involved.