When it comes to environmental sustainability, the health sector has an astoundingly negative influence on our global efforts to be eco-friendly.
Recent studies have found that, in particular, the U.S. healthcare system contributes 8.5% of greenhouse gas emissions – with our hospitals making up 36% of these emissions. But why?
For starters – operating these ‘energy draining’ facilities 24/7, alongside our healthcare system’s reliance on the use of non-disposable medical items and the resultant creation of huge amounts of non-biodegradable, non-compostable waste matter, all contribute.
Despite this, it’s concerning to admit that the detrimental impact the medical industry has had – and continues to have – on our environment has long been overlooked. But now, it’s coming into the limelight – with increasing pressure being placed on the healthcare industry to lessen its climate-polluting processes.
So how do we move forward, and drive the pursuit of sustainability in healthcare for the betterment of our environment – now, and into the future?
Let’s discuss.
Step One: Climate-Focused Education for Medical Professionals
The key to change is – and always has been – through education. Whether they’re completing an online FNP program, a medical doctorate, or a clinical research study, students of medicine need to be made aware of the overwhelming effects their industry is having on the environment at large – while they are studying. This means incorporating environmental considerations into medical coursework material, and ensuring that students are across it.
Targeting our healthcare workers’ awareness of their potential impact on the environment at the grassroots level – that is to say, while they are still completing their qualifications, professional placements, and academic research, helps to mitigate the problem before students step into a professional clinical setting.
In this way, we can prepare medical students to become more environmentally conscious medical practitioners, and also, to be more aware of the influence their real-world professional practice can have on the future of our planet.
Step Two: More Scrutiny, More Environmentally-Considered Initiatives
If we want to see real change in the healthcare industry’s relationship with the environment, we need to apply more pressure. When it comes to climate concerns – or any pressing social issue, for that matter – the truth is that, often, only the squeaky wheel gets the grease. If we want to make things happen, then, we need to make some noise.
The good news? The medical industry is undergoing more scrutiny than ever before in terms of its impact on our ecosystems. At the recent United Nations Climate Change Conference (‘COP28’), held in the UAE in late 2023, a paradox was identified: while the current climate crisis is placing increasing pressure on our ability to deliver basic medical care in certain parts of the world, the healthcare industry’s collective lack of consideration for the environment is only worsening this.
In this sense, it goes both ways: to be able to improve the level of care that’s being provided to healthcare patients, the medical industry needs to step up and do its part to minimize pollution, lessen carbon emissions, and put a stop to wasteful industry processes.
Step Three: The Creation of Better, More Eco-Friendly Medical Processes
In terms of making improvements toward sustainable healthcare, raising awareness of the issue is only the beginning. Next – new, eco-friendly healthcare protocols need to be put into place.
So how do we do this? In essence, environmentally sound healthcare systems need to be underpinned by sustainable medical practices, such as:
- Educating healthcare practitioners on the impact of their carbon footprint when delivering medical treatment and care.
- Minimizing medical staff’s need to use wasteful, non-biodegradable medical items by manufacturing more eco-friendly products.
- Reusing medical equipment wherever hygienically possible.
- Ensuring all medical staff are utilizing medical devices and materials conservatively and with the environment in mind.
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Our climate is in crisis. Worse, the climate crisis is impacting our ability to deliver basic medical treatment and care in some areas of the world.
Surely, medical practitioners would want to see an end to this crisis? But paradoxically, the healthcare industry is contributing to our global impact on the environment – in a negative way.
To combat this, we need to implement sustainable healthcare practices, and also, introduce awareness of environmental considerations at the grassroots educational level. This can only happen, though, if we continue to pioneer the issue and see more conversations around the subject on a global scale – similar to those raised at the 2023 COP28.
