Green Pulse Commits to Sustainable Healthcare with Green Deal Duurzame Zorg
Last Friday, December 6th, Green Pulse proudly signed the Green Deal Duurzame Zorg, reinforcing our commitment to sustainable impact in the healthcare sector. This initiative is crucial as the healthcare sector in the Netherlands is responsible for approximately 7% of the national CO2 footprint, 4% of waste, and 13% of raw material usage, including metals and minerals. By delivering care, the sector paradoxically contributes to the climate and environmental crises, as well as an increasing demand for care. The Green Deal aims to break this paradox by promoting 'duurzame zorg' or sustainable care, which means green and climate-neutral healthcare with minimal greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact.
The Green Deal Duurzame Zorg outlines five key themes for action from 2023 to 2026:
Promoting Health: Enhancing health promotion and prevention.
Increasing Knowledge and Awareness: Integrating sustainability into healthcare education curricula and guidelines.
Reducing CO2 Emissions: Aiming for a 30% reduction in CO2 emissions by 2026 and climate neutrality by 2050 for buildings and transportation.
Reducing Primary Resource Use: Targeting a 25% reduction in residual waste by 2026 and achieving maximum circular care by 2050.
Reducing Environmental Impact of Medication: Minimizing the environmental burden of medication.
Green Pulse is dedicated to contributing to these goals through the following actions:
Promoting Health: By sustainably and structurally extending the lifespan of medical equipment and aids, we can deploy these in areas with limited budgets, ensuring continued patient care.
Raising Awareness and Knowledge: Hospitals receive periodic reports on the financial and ecological results of disposing of medical equipment and aids through us. These reports can be directly used for their own reporting and KPI accountability on waste, circular economy, and Scope 3 emissions.
Reducing CO2 Emissions: We combine the collection of items with a pre-planned inward movement of our logistics partner, eliminating the need for additional transport movements. Moreover, our partner's vehicles are largely zero-emission.
Working Circularly and Sparingly with Resources and Materials: Medical equipment and aids are made from (rare) raw materials, and their production and transport consume energy. Optimizing their lifespan directly contributes to improving the circular economy in healthcare. We keep them in the supply chain instead of ending up as waste while still having value.
Green Pulse is excited to be part of this transformative journey towards sustainable healthcare!