CLIMATE CHANGE MITIGATION
Net Zero carbon should be focused on material usage and production.
A common Nordic information source Nordic healthcare systems share a common source of information on sustainable practices in healthcare. The Nordic Center for Sustainable Healthcare has proven to be a valuable forum for sharing information and great examples of sustainable solutions in healthcare facilities.11
Sharing the same Nordic climate, A panel and shelves for patient monitors.
to Climate Change, in 2005. The first action plan was published in 2008, and recently a healthcare-specific action plan for adaptation has been prepared.8 In Nordic countries, climate change means warmer winters that increase the incidence of vector-borne diseases spread by mites. Winters will be darker, which may cause stress and depression. Buildings, meanwhile, must be able to withstand increasing humidity, storms, and heatwaves, while snow and rainwater must be controlled to prevent flooding or any other disruption to hospital functions. It should not be too much of a challenge to factor in climate change adaptation through regulation of hospital planning and construction.
Recommended steps Despite ambitious climate goals set by Finnish government, there is no national roadmap for decarbonisation in Finnish healthcare. A global organisation, Health Care Without Harm, published a roadmap for healthcare decarbonisation from both a global perspective, and that of 68 individual countries, including Finland.9 The roadmap’s proposals are well
argued, and should be considered both at a local and a national level in each country. Although the data for carbon footprint calculations are from 2014, and much work has been done since, it seems that plenty of work still lies ahead, particularly in terms of the items and materials used in healthcare. According to another calculation by the British NHS, 62% of healthcare’s greenhouse gas emissions are generated by medicines, equipment, and other items procured for care, while just 10% originate from energy usage from buildings, and a further 10% from patient and staff transport.10
This suggests that the road to 30 Health Estate Journal February 2023
we can also learn from each other in hospital construction, technology, and maintenance. At present, several Finnish hospital districts are aiming for enhanced co-operation to share best practices in sustainable procurement, construction, energy solutions, and waste management, and initiate research activities with local universities. Funding healthcare’s green transition should come from the European Union’s Recovery and Resilience Facility.
Conclusions Generally speaking, healthcare sustainability has not been a high priority in Finland, yet we can identify several actions that could support climate change mitigation in Finnish society. The government’s commitments, the growing interest and sense of urgency among the population, all the technical solutions available, and the R&D process, support the Finnish healthcare system in finding a path for carbon neutrality. However, it is too early to say when.
I would like to thank Juha Rantasalo MSc, Technical director of the Hospital District of Southwest Finland, for his valuable contribution when I was putting together this article.
n This article, titled ‘Climate change mitigation and adaptation in Finland’, was originally published in the IFHE Digest 2022. HEJ thanks the IFHE, the author, and the Digest’s editor, for allowing its reproduction here in slightly edited form.
References 1 Finland Ministry of the Environment. Finland’s national climate change policy.
https://ym.fi/en/finland-s-national- climate-change-policy
2 Finland Ministry of Finance. Sustainable Growth Programme for Finland – boosting reforms and investments, 2021. https://
vm.fi/en/sustainable-growth-programme- for-finland
3 Finland Ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. Summary of sector-specific low-carbon roadmaps, 2021. https://
julkaisut.valtioneuvosto.fi/bitstream/ handle/10024/162851/TEM_2021_9.pdf 4 Finnish Medical Association et al.
Leena Setälä
Leena Setälä, MD, PhD, is a specialist in plastic surgery, and an executive Master of Business Administration. She has worked in hospitals for over 30 years as a consultant, and since 2005 in a variety of administrative roles. She is currently Sustainability director at the Hospital District of Southwest Finland. Since 2019, she has been responsible for the design and implementation of the Sustainability Programme in this Hospital District, including its environmental, economic, and social sustainability elements. She also works with other hospitals, municipalities, universities, and national institutes, to increase sustainability awareness. In addition, she is as a director of Development at Health Campus Turku.
Medical associations declare a climate emergency, 2021.
https://lsv.fi/parasol/ wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Climate- Emergency_070121.pdf
5 Finland Ministry of the Environment. Wood Building Programme 2016-2023.
https://ym.fi/en/wood-building
6 Timperley J. Q&A: Why cement emissions matter for climate change. Carbon Brief. 13 September 2018. https://carbonbrief. org/qa-why-cement-emissions-matter- for-climate-change
7 HUS (Helsinki University Hospital. Environmental responsibility. https://
tinyurl.com/2y8twdua
8 Finland Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Healthcare and social welfare must systematically prepare for climate change, 25 May 2021. https://tinyurl. com/45kwxs98
9 Health Care Without Harm. Global Road Map for Health Care Decarbonization, 2021. https://healthcareclimateaction. org/roadmap
10 NHS England. Delivering a ‘Net Zero’ National Health Service, 2020. https://
tinyurl.com/35s5htet
11 Nordic Center for Sustainable Healthcare.
https://nordicshc.org
©Mikael Soininen
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