WEO Newsletter: Towards a Green Endoscopy

W HEN WE THINK of endoscopy, we think of innovation, advanced techniques, patient safety, and more.But have we ever stopped to reflect on the environmental price of these accomplishments?Could our practices be harmful to the planet's health?To put the issue into perspective, healthcare contributes between 1% and 5% of global environmental impacts, depending on the metric considered, and surpasses 5% in certain national contexts. 1igestive endoscopy is far from blameless as it is a resource-demanding activity with a substantial but insufficiently evaluated environmental footprint. 2Endoscopy is believed to be the third-largest producer of waste within the healthcare sector. 3 From the gallons of water and kilowatts of energy used in scope reprocessing to the mountains of single-use plastics discarded daily, our practices are leaving a footprint that can no longer be ignored.