News item | 04-11-2022 | 16:30
In recent months, parties from the healthcare sector, supported by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport have worked to arrive at new and better agreements about making healthcare more sustainable in the Green Deal 3.0 ‘Working together on Sustainable Care’. This Green Deal focuses on the sustainability transition in the healthcare sector and makes the actions for the coming years more concrete. Today, various ministries and parties from the healthcare sector have signed the Green Deal 3.0 and the national signing moment will be on 8 December where parties from the entire healthcare sector will announce their sustainability ambitions.
Ernst Kuipers: “The need to make healthcare more sustainable is greater than ever. It is a necessary task and certainly not an easy one. I am confident that with the Green Deal 3.0 we will take concrete steps towards a sustainable future together with the sector.”
The themes and objectives
Making healthcare more sustainable is a joint task. The concrete goals contribute to an irreversible transformation to a healthcare system and healthcare sector with minimal impact on the climate and environment by 2050.
The agreement consists of five themes: health promotion, knowledge and awareness, CO2 emissions, circular working and medication. Work will continue on these themes from 2023 to 2026 in order to achieve more sustainable care.
The first goal is to focus more on health promotion for patients, clients and healthcare staff. The second goal is to increase awareness and knowledge about the impact of healthcare on the climate and the environment. In terms of CO2 emissions, the aim is to achieve a 55% reduction in direct CO2 emissions in 2030 compared to 2018 and climate-neutral care in 2050. The deal also aims to achieve a 50% reduction in primary raw materials use by 2030 (compared to 2016) and maximum circular care in 2050. Finally, the deal should contribute to reducing the environmental impact of medication.
Green Deal: Working together on sustainable care
Climate change and environmental pollution are causing an increasing and changing demand for care. The increasing demand for care in turn leads to increasing pressure on care and on healthcare costs. Many healthcare professionals are therefore in favor of a rapid transition to a climate-neutral healthcare system.
The new deal is a collaboration between the national government and representative organizations from the healthcare sector, health insurers and banks, as a follow-up to two previous Green Deals. The focus is on more concrete agreements and less non-commitment.
The deal was signed by Minister Kuipers (Public Health, Welfare and Sport), Minister Harbers (Infrastructure and Water Management), Minister De Jonge (Public Housing and Spatial Planning) and Minister Jetten (Climate and Energy). Minister Kuipers also signed the deal on behalf of Minister Helder (Long-term Care and Sport) and State Secretary Van Ooijen (Public Health, Welfare and Sport).
More information and the deal itself can be found at https://www.greendeals.nl/green-deals/green-deal-30-samen-werken-aan-duurzame-zorg