Faced with the acceleration of the upheavals linked to the ecological crisis, a collective leap is necessary. With the national sobriety plan, a first major step is about to be taken. It is now necessary to engage sector by sector so that the initiatives taken on the ground push the international leaders to accelerate.
In particular, health actors must urgently carry out their ecological aggiornamento. Too little discussed, even if the World Health Organization (WHO) called for the subject to be put on the table at COP27, the transformation of our health systems is nevertheless essential from an ecological and public health point of view.
More than air traffic
In France, this sector is responsible for 8% of greenhouse gas emissions, of which more than half related to the purchase of drugs and medical devices. It’s more than air traffic. The Environment and Energy Management Agency (Ademe) estimates that healthcare establishments alone represent more than 700,000 tonnes of waste and up to 1,200 liters of water per hospitalized patient every day.
In other words, France will not be a green nation until its health system is sustainable. Just as no overhaul of our health system can be envisaged without taking into account the impacts of the ecological crisis on health: fires, zoonoses, or even air pollution which, as it stands, could cause up to to 100,000 premature deaths in France each year, are risks to be taken into account in order to strengthen our resilience.
Public hospitals and accommodation establishments for dependent elderly people (Ehpad) have taken up this subject by inventing local solutions that are just waiting to be generalized.
In the Pays de la Loire region, the Regional Health Agency (ARS) and Ademe are working with establishments to reduce their energy consumption. In Auvergne, the Clermont-Ferrand university hospital center (CHU) manages forty-seven waste sorting channels and the Moulins-Yzeure hospital center has launched an inspiring responsible catering initiative. In New Aquitaine, the Bordeaux University Hospital (Gironde) has launched an ambitious sustainable mobility policy.
Everywhere in France, establishments are mobilizing, as in Carcassonne (Aude), where the hospital Center covered more than 24,000 square meters of photovoltaic shades. We also see “eco-maternities” and “green blocks” springing up here and there, that is to say services that have been reorganized to work to reduce their own carbon footprint on a daily basis!
You have 58.22% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.