April is Sustainability Month, spotlighting environmental responsibility as Earth Day approaches on April 22. For clinical research, it’s a chance to rethink how trials—vital for medical progress—can lighten their ecological load. Clinical trial management systems (CTMS) are at the forefront of this shift, offering digital tools that cut waste, streamline operations, and align with global sustainability goals, all while keeping trials efficient and compliant.
Traditional trials leave a hefty footprint. A study with 2000 patients across 10 sites, requiring nine visits each, burns through 164,800 sheets of paper (799 kg CO2), 3,808 kg CO2 from monitoring travel, and 237 kg CO2 from patient trips—totaling 4,885 kg CO2 per trial. Multiply that by the 15,000 trials run yearly in Europe, and the scale is massive. Yet, decentralized digital clinical trials (DDCTs), enabled by modern CTMS, can slash emissions by 90.1%, saving 4,399 kg CO2 per trial. This isn’t just a number—it’s a revolution for trial managers juggling timelines and sponsors eyeing cost savings alongside eco-credentials.
Digitization is the key. Paper-based processes—consent forms, case reports, questionnaires—vanish with e-tools, erasing that 799 kg CO2. Monitoring visits, once racking up 3,808 kg CO2 with 50 car trips, shift to remote oversight via real-time dashboards. Trial managers track progress and data without travel, saving time and emissions. Sponsors see faster results and leaner budgets, plus a sustainability story that resonates—63% of people now value clinical research post-pandemic, and green practices amplify that trust.
Efficiency goes deeper. Analytics in CTMS pinpoint optimal sites, cutting assessment trips and their emissions. Integration with electronic health records (EHR) and electronic data capture (EDC) trims redundant work, speeding timelines and lowering energy use. While DDCTs use some energy (486 kg CO2 for devices and servers), it’s a fraction of traditional trials’ toll. If Europe’s trials went digital, savings could hit 41,009 to 65,981 tons CO2 yearly—think thousands of cars off the road.
Industry pioneers like AstraZeneca show it’s doable. Their Phase 3 heart failure trial analysis flagged travel and site ops as emission culprits, spurring a digital pivot. The goal? A 74% emissions drop by 2030. CTMS can power this, offering trial managers actionable insights and sponsors a way to meet regulatory and investor expectations, like those tied to the EU’s Clinical Trials Regulation (CTR) or UN Global Compact.
Standardizing carbon metrics remains tricky—no universal yardstick exists yet. But customizable reporting in CTMS helps bridge that gap, letting teams track and tout progress. This Sustainability Month, trial managers can lean on digital tools to ease logistics, while sponsors build a future where breakthroughs don’t cost the Earth. It’s not just compliance—it’s leadership.
