With 7 percent of total CO2 emissions, healthcare is one of the most polluting sectors. However, policymakers only added sustainability at the very last moment to the Integral Care Agreement (IZA). Now that many transformation plans are ready, it turns out that sustainability plays only a marginal role in them.
According to an IG&H study of 37 regional plans, all the plans contribute to the Green Deal goal of promoting prevention and physical and mental health. However, attention to climate and environmental impact is very limited. For example, recycling appears in only seven plans and medication waste is addressed in just one plan. Only the use of e-health, mentioned in almost all plans, has the side effect of reducing patient travel movements.
The research further shows that healthcare providers do indeed consider sustainability important, but it is only marginally reflected in the transformation plans. One reason for this is that the evaluation of sustainability is (too) voluntary. Sustainability is often an additional aspect of initiatives primarily focused on prevention, appropriate care, and digitization. Preventing care and reducing travel movements also lower CO2 emissions. Thus, many transformation plans indirectly contribute to making healthcare more sustainable.
Urgency of Other Challenge
Healthcare providers indicate that they are overwhelmed by the increasing staff shortages and growing demand for healthcare. This makes sustainability, perhaps understandably, a lower priority in the transformation plans. It also seems to be at odds with the affordability, quality, and accessibility of care. Sustainable healthcare is often more expensive initially because significant investments need to be made. In the long run, however, sustainable measures can lead to substantial cost savings.
The fact that sustainability was only added at the last moment in the IZA is indicative of the priority it was given: contributing to sustainability seems like just a box to check. This is a missed opportunity considering that climate change is the biggest threat to our health. Giving sustainability the same priority would not only help make the healthcare sector more sustainable but also reduce future health burdens. This is reason enough to pay more attention to sustainable plans within the Integral Care Agreement.
More Attention to Sustainability
To truly make healthcare sustainable, much more investment is needed. So far, only 42 million euros have been allocated for this purpose within the Green Deal 3.0 until 2026. This stands in stark contrast to the 1.6 to 3.4 billion euros that are expected to be needed to achieve the Green Deal goals.
If we want to meet climate goals, it is inevitable that a portion of the transformation funds will have to be dedicated purely to sustainability. For example, with 7 percent of the available 2.8 billion euros from the IZA, we are still not there, but it is at least a step in the right direction. To give more attention to sustainability, a more prominent place in the successor to the IZA, the Integral Health and Welfare Agreement (IZWA), would be a good idea. This could be done by setting up a separate sustainability thematic table. Although this may go against the political flow, healthcare providers could collectively push for this.
Walter Kien
Director Healthcare
T: +31 6 29 56 52 08