Leaders of the global healthcare community are invited to attend an important virtual event looking at developing innovative practices for a sustainable future.

The event – Green Hospitals: Sharing innovative practices for a sustainable future – on  7 October (12pm – 3pm UTC), is being hosted by the International Hospital Federation and Dialog Health.

It will bring together hospital executives from around the world to share their strategies and experiences in promoting sustainability in the healthcare sector.

Climate change – a major threat to public health

Hospital and healthcare professionals are at the forefront of the fight against climate change, which is at risk of becoming the biggest public health threat of our generation:

• If the world’s healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest emitter of carbon emissions on the planet.
• Medical professionals have identified climate change from carbon emissions as the ‘biggest global health threat of the 21st century’. (The Lancet, Commission on Climate Change, 2009)
• Between 2030 and 2050, climate change is expected to cause more than 250,000 additional deaths per year.

The keynote speaker at the event will be Dr. Satoru Komatsumoto, Emeritus Director of Ashikaga Red Cross Hospital, which is Japan’s first green hospital Dr. Komatsumoto will share his insights into designing a resilient hospital.

He commented: “Sixteen years ago, I proposed that our hospital should be eco-conscious. I wanted to create a hospital that would be beautiful and that would organically integrate all the features to meet the challenges of the future… I wondered what kind of hospital would meet the needs of our time. I studied very hard to imagine a next generation hospital.”

The program also includes speakers from Europe and the USA who will share strategies to achieve net zero carbon emissions by 2030, sustainable food circuits and building a carbon-neutral hospital. There will also be dedicated time for small group discussions with the experts to explore innovative ideas.

• You can register here for Green Hospitals: Sharing innovative practices for a sustainable future.