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Climate change is having a major impact on health and the environment. That makes it important to have an overview of all the sources that contribute to climate change. One of these sources is the healthcare sector. The Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sports, therefore, wants to know the impact of the Dutch care sector on the environment. Among other things, it turns out that the care sector is responsible for about 7 percent of the emission of greenhouse gases. This number confirms previous estimates and is now better substantiated. RIVM has developed a method to calculate the environmental impact of healthcare. This is the first time that scientific knowledge about multiple impact categories of healthcare on the environment has been mapped out for the Netherlands. Next to the method development, practical examples were gathered on how to support good health for clients and patients in health care facilities. The method calculates the environmental impact of medical procedures, such as the use of anaesthetics (that can be greenhouse gases) in operations, as well as the impact of the production of goods and services used in health care. The footprint has been calculated for more than just climate change (emissions of greenhouse gases). It has also been calculated for the use of water and raw materials (metals and minerals), for land use and for the amount of waste produced. If required, more impact categories can be added to the method. Roughly speaking, the production of chemical products such as pharmaceuticals, soaps and solvents causes most - about 40 percent - of the greenhouse gas emissions and the use of raw materials by the healthcare sector. Exactly which products and processes cause this is not yet clear and requires more research. Additionally, various care organisations were interviewed, such as hospitals, geriatric care and mental health care (GGZ) institutes, to look for practical examples of how to improve a health promoting environment in and around health care provider facilities. The examples concern practices that keep people in care institutions - such as the elderly and disabled - healthy, for example by giving them healthier food and by planting greenery. Such a healthy 'care environment' can help to prevent illness and contributes to good and sustainable health care. RIVM makes recommendations to further improve the environmental footprint method. For example, a plan can be made on how to determine the present situation and how to monitor future developments. Collecting more practical examples is also recommended, because these are very much asked for by healthcare professionals. |
