About CARING NATURE
CARING NATURE is financed by the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Grant Agreement n°101137340.
Ambition
Develop and validate 10 innovative solutions to reduce the impact of the healthcare sector on the environment, without interfering with the safety of patients and operators.
Budget
6 M€
Start date
01 January 2024
Duration
36 months
Background
The healthcare sector is responsible for 4-5% of global total Greenhouse Gases (GHG) emissions, not only in hospitals but also in other health and care entities, with a share of approximately 50%. The projected yearly GHG emissions of the healthcare sector from now to 2050 will dramatically increase if no action is taken. However, in healthcare entities and hospitals little attention has been given to operational costs and energy saving since the healthcare providers (HCPs) attach priority to patient care and safety. Indeed, healthcare buildings need 24/7 Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning (HVAC) and electricity. It is also complex to reduce medical waste as the reuse of materials and devices would be potentially hazardous. And finally, it is difficult to introduce telemedicine as patients and doctors are used to face-to-face consultations.
Therefore, urgent actions to reduce the impact of the health and care sector on the environment are required, but with the constraint of not interfering with the safety of patients and operators.
CARING NATURE will develop, test and validate 10 innovative solutions aiming to reduce non-supply chain GHG emissions in the healthcare sector.
Vision
The importance of a project as CARING NATURE is especially timely, since the importance of environment protection is clear for all to see. As other critical infrastructures, hospitals must do their part in reduction of carbon footprint. Hospitals – and healthcare in general – are considered as major polluters since they consume a lot of energy, which translates into carbon dioxide emissions and produce large quantities of waste to be disposed-off.
Leveraging the “caring” of healthcare workers, the CARING NATURE Project has the ambition to extend the object of this essential quality from the patient care to the surrounding environment, the “nature” through a change of perspective and a cultural shift in the healthcare sector.
The nature of the health and care workers should be CARING both for their patients and for NATURE”
However, the challenge of greener health and care systems is to develop solutions that are environmentally effective, economically affordable and acceptable by patients, workers and citizens.
CARING NATURE will therefore develop, test and validate solutions based on already consolidated solutions in non-hospital contexts, while ensuring their effectiveness and adaptability to the peculiarities of the healthcare sector.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation action programme under the grant agreement n°101137340.