Shah NJ, Aloysius MM, Loganathan P, Nikumbh T, Perisetti A, Goyal H. Green endoscopy: A review of strategies for sustainable practice. World J Gastrointest Endosc 2025; 17(10): 109148 [DOI: 10.4253/wjge.v17.i10.109148]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Hemant Goyal, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Borland Groover, 836 Prudential Drive Suite 801, Jacksonville, FL 32207, United States. doc.hemant@yahoo.com
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Gastroenterology & Hepatology
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Minireviews
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This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Oct 16, 2025 (publication date) through Oct 19, 2025
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Publication Name
World Journal of Gastrointestinal Endoscopy
ISSN
1948-5190
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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA
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Shah NJ, Aloysius MM, Loganathan P, Nikumbh T, Perisetti A, Goyal H. Green endoscopy: A review of strategies for sustainable practice. World J Gastrointest Endosc 2025; 17(10): 109148 [DOI: 10.4253/wjge.v17.i10.109148]
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Oct 16, 2025; 17(10): 109148 Published online Oct 16, 2025. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v17.i10.109148
Green endoscopy: A review of strategies for sustainable practice
Niraj James Shah, Mark M Aloysius, Priyadarshini Loganathan, Tejas Nikumbh, Abhilash Perisetti, Hemant Goyal
Niraj James Shah, Department of Internal Medicine, Digestive Disease, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS 39216, United States
Mark M Aloysius, Division of Gastroenterology, SUNY Upstate Medical University, Syracuse, NY 13210, United States
Priyadarshini Loganathan, Department of Gastroenterology, UT Health San Antonio, San Antonio, TX 78216, United States
Tejas Nikumbh, Department of Internal Medicine, The Wright Center for Graduate Medical Education, Scranton, PA 18510, United States
Abhilash Perisetti, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Kansas, MO 64128, United States
Hemant Goyal, Department of Gastroenterology, Borland Groover, Jacksonville, FL 32207, United States
Author contributions: Shah NJ did the literature search, analysis, and interpretation of data, and created the artwork; Shah NJ and Loganathan P drafted the original manuscript; Aloysius MM supervised the study and made critical revisions; Nikumbh T created the artwork, drafted the revised manuscript; Perisetti A and Goyal H made critical revisions; Goyal H conceptualized, designed, and supervised the study. All authors prepared the final draft and approved the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Hemant Goyal, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Borland Groover, 836 Prudential Drive Suite 801, Jacksonville, FL 32207, United States. doc.hemant@yahoo.com
Received: May 7, 2025 Revised: June 15, 2025 Accepted: September 9, 2025 Published online: October 16, 2025 Processing time: 169 Days and 6.4 Hours
Abstract
In the last 50 years, gastrointestinal endoscopy has evolved rapidly with increasing indications of use for both diagnostic and therapeutic modalities. However, it has also contributed to a significant carbon footprint and healthcare-related climate change. Endoscopy is a high-volume specialty in the United States, with an estimated > 22 million endoscopies performed annually. Therefore, it has also, unfortunately, become the third-highest generator of healthcare-related waste, with an estimated annual emission of 85768 metric tons of carbon dioxide. It is estimated that a single endoscopy session may generate more than 2 kg of waste. At the level of physicians, administrators, industry, and humanity, reducing healthcare-related waste has become one of the significant challenges currently faced. The ultimate professional goal should be to raise awareness, educate, start initiatives to reduce medical waste and perform research to make endoscopy more sustainable. These applications will lead to the establishment and promotion of environmentally friendly practices with standardized metrics to reduce the carbon footprint of gastrointestinal endoscopy.
Core Tip: Green Endoscopy is a relatively new concept with limited awareness and published articles to review. It would require multi-disciplinary approach to make green endoscopy possible and achieve zero endoscopy-related carbon emissions. The declaration by National Health Service from the United Kingdom to set a goal of zero carbon footprint by 2040 at United Nations climate change conference is one such effort. The joint consensus on practical measures for environmental sustainability and endoscopy is also a step forward, with many more societies set to publish guidelines on green endoscopy. The goal of carbon neutrality becomes essential in the context of climate change, which not only causes numerous damaging health impacts but also hinders the delivery of safe and effective healthcare. This vicious cycle of carbon emission causes health problems, which, when managed, causes further emissions. This demonstrates the link between healthcare and climate change, hence the need to make healthcare climate-smart.
