The social and health care sector plays a critical, life-saving role in our societies protecting and promoting human well-being. At the same time, it is a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, environmental pollution, and the consumption of natural resources, including energy and water. Transforming the sector is essential not only for meeting climate goals but also for protecting global health and ensuring the long-term sustainability of care systems.
By investing in low-carbon and resource-efficient solutions, social and health care systems can reduce their environmental footprint, improve economic efficiency, and enhance resilience. To accelerate the transition towards environmentally sustainable health systems, we recommend coordinated action across all levels of governance and including all relevant actors.
While the primary focus of this paper is on carbon emissions, the paper also draws attention to other significant environmental impacts associated with the healthcare sector, such as resource use, pollution, and waste generation.
Key recommendations for promoting sustainable low-carbon social and health care systems
1. Align policy with climate goals: Ensure that EU and national policies actively support the decarbonization of social and health care systems through mandatory greenhouse gas emission assessments and binding targets aligned with achieving net-zero by 2050 at the latest.
2. Demand emission reductions and environmental sustainability for all relevant actors: Establish legal obligations for all social and health care providers to reduce emissions and environmental impacts, underpinned by national strategies, action plans, and appropriate financial incentives and/or sanctions.
3. Demand plastic and chemical waste reductions: Require social and health care providers to reduce the unnecessary use of single-use products and toxic chemicals when alternatives are possible
4. Strengthen awareness and knowledge: Increase understanding of the environmental impacts of social and health care sector - including contributions to climate change biodiversity loss and environmental pollution — by promoting education, research and data collection grounded in a Planetary Health/One Health approach.
5. Scale sustainable solutions: Promote the development and widespread adoption of environmentally sustainable low-carbon social and health care practices that improve care quality, lower costs, and advance climate and sustainability goals.
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Further information: Tuuli Kaskinen, CEO, tuuli.kaskinen@clc.fi
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