Koninklijke Philips N : Three reasons why sustainable hospitals deliver better care

Let's start from the global perspective. Many of us are increasingly aware of the link between the waste we see in front of us and the effect it has on our planet. In its latest Global Risks report, the World Economic Forum emphasizes that the top five global risks to humanity in terms of likelihood are all related to the environment.

Even before the pandemic, healthcare created a shocking amount of waste: a full 13kg per bed per day, according to one study [2], which is about the same weight as a car tire. And since COVID-19, doctors, patients, and everyday people alike have all noticed the monumental rise in single-use personal protective equipment [3]. In cities all over the world, discarded masks litter the streets.

Rarely has waste become so tangibly connected to our health, which Robert and I believe may have encouraged health leaders to reflect on how to address such an urgent global crisis. Indeed, this theme came up when we interviewed healthcare leaders for the Future Health Index 2021 report [4]. In the survey, sustainable practices referred to 'environmentally conscious sourcing, recycling, etc,' which correspond to SDGs 12 and 13.

We were surprised and pleased to see an immense 15-fold increase in expected importance of environmentally sustainable healthcare from now to three years from now. Healthcare leaders told us that implementing sustainability practices in their hospital or healthcare facility will rise from the bottom of their priority list (4%) to the top (58%) in three years, with those in France (86%) and the Netherlands (81%) leading the way.

As they plan for the future, one way in which hospitals are looking to implement sustainable practices is through their choice of partners. In particular, they see three sustainability actions as clear differentiators: long-lasting design of products (58%), circular economy business models (43%), and sustainable health and safety operations (40%) at a corporate level.