White paper
We are developing a cross-sectoral action plan for reducing the environmental impacts of pharmaceuticals used in UK healthcare
Our initial call-to-action paper mapped out the UK pharmaceutical pollution system. We are now using systems design tools, such as the Iceberg Model (insert diagram below), to identify leverage points and recommendations for action from across this system. These recommendations will be published as a White Paper in autumn 2024. Please follow us on social media to be kept up to date on our progress. As part of the White Paper development we will be running online consultation surveys to collect feedback from outside the Consortium; these will be posted on our social media channels.
Iceberg model
We have adapted the Iceberg Model (Hall 1976; adapted with input from Meadows 1999 and Nobles 2021), to help us identify leverage points for change across the UK healthcare pharmaceutical system. The model considers that, like icebergs, 90% of a complex issue is hidden beneath the surface, and these underlying factors drive the visible outcomes (here, pharmaceutical pollution). In our version of the model, we consider that organisational structures and processes directly underpin the outcomes, and these structures themselves come about from the strategic goals of the organisations involved. In turn, the goals are a consequence of our societal mindset or culture. We are using this model to identify leverage points at all levels of the system, assuming the theory that the deeper the level, the more leverage that point will have.