As policymakers from around the world gather for the World Health Summit in Berlin (13 - 15 October 2024), Health Care Without Harm (HCWH) Europe today calls on EU policymakers to commit to ten policy recommendations to ensure the European Union puts sustainability at the heart of the region’s healthcare.
In a new EU Manifesto 2024-29 published today, HCWH Europe sets out key policy changes newly-elected Members of the European Parliament could support to accelerate the shift toward sustainable healthcare systems.
The healthcare sector represents over 10% of the EU’s GDP and is responsible for around 5% of the region’s net climate emissions, significantly impacting human health and the environment. HCWH Europe’s manifesto sets out ten policy priorities aimed at minimising healthcare’s environmental footprint, increasing its resilience to the effects of climate change, protecting and improving public health, forcing pharmaceutical companies to reduce the negative environmental impacts of their products, and making healthcare systems fit for the future.
Sustainable healthcare is no longer a choice – it’s a necessity. As the World Health Summit in Berlin highlights, collaborative health leadership is critically important, and by implementing Health Care Without Harm Europe’s EU Manifesto 2024-29, European parliamentarians can put Europe at the forefront in meeting this global challenge. The Manifesto highlights the economic benefits and critical steps needed to reduce the sector’s environmental impact while improving public health. Adopting a net-zero economy can help avoid €200 billion/year in health damage cost. Stemming the growth of antimicrobial resistance can cut down the current expenditure of ~€12 billion/year. Restricting chemicals under REACH can yield billions of euros in health benefits.
Mark Wilson, Executive Director, Health Care Without Harm Europe
Key policy recommendations from the manifesto include:
- Integrating healthcare into the EU’s climate targets, with a 65% reduction in emissions by 2030 and net-zero by 2040
- Promoting circular economy practices and establishing mandatory Green Public Procurement criteria to drive sustainability throughout healthcare supply chains
- A call for stronger policies to address antimicrobial resistance (AMR), improved water quality protection, and transparency across healthcare supply chains
Ambitious regulatory frameworks are essential to ensuring that healthcare systems across Europe can effectively respond to both current and future environmental and public health challenges and HCWH Europe’s Manifesto sets out how the healthcare sector across the continent can successfully achieve this.
Clinicians across Europe witness the effects of climate change and biodiversity loss every day in their workspace, be that air quality or heat related or antimicrobial resistance. We also witness our own stark contribution to the same problem in the form of plastic pollution, energy waste, unnecessary travel and direct greenhouse gas emissions. For some problems, we think we have some solutions whilst maintaining patient safety and good personal care, but we need the regulations to catch up with changing clinical practice. And we need enhanced tools from regulatory authorities to help us engage with the medical supply industry, clean up the supply chain and return to a more circular and realistic healthcare model.
Kenneth Barker, Consultant Anaesthetist, Clinical Lead for Sustainability NHSH, Raigmore Hospital & Health Care Without Harm Europe Board member