It is always nice to be right, but sometimes, you wish you weren’t.
Even before Covid-19, we started adding a section to our training on sustainable healthcare and resilience. The point was simple: the two often go hand in hand. There are many similarities. In practice, they are often the same thing. I have even argued that hospitals that were more sustainable handled Covid somewhat better. Not perfectly, but better. If you could wash and sterilize your own OR scrubs, you were not stuck waiting for a shipment that never arrived. If you could produce your own oxygen, you were less dependent on disrupted supply chains. These were not theoretical advantages. They mattered. Then came the next reminder.
When energy prices skyrocketed after the war in Ukraine, we saw it again. Hospitals that depended on a single gas line for heating and electricity suddenly faced enormous costs just to maintain their existing operations. Others had it a little easier. Those who had invested in geothermal heating and cooling. Those who had reduced their energy use through more efficient lighting and ventilation. Those with better insulation in roofs, walls, and windows. Those who produced some of their own energy locally. Not immune, but less exposed.
I was interviewed on this topic by Politico at the time, and the conclusion was not particularly surprising: sustainability reduces vulnerability.
“So those who have been proactive have it a little bit easier now,” said [Daniel] Eriksson. “To be bold, I would say: “I told you so, 10 years ago, I told you so,” and some listened, and some didn’t. And we were right.” -Politico - The energy to care: Hospitals struggle with rising costs, By Sarah-Taïssir Bencharif · Oct 5, 2022
And now we are here again. Energy prices are rising. There is renewed discussion about shortages of raw materials, plastics not least among them. Logistics chains are once again under pressure. And once again, I find myself making the same argument. Sustainability and resilience go hand in hand.
So, have we learned anything? Some have. Others will once again be surprised. What does this actually mean in practice? It can be quite concrete.
- You have the possibility to wash clothing at the hospital, or at least locally.
- You can sterilize equipment on-site, or work with suppliers that offer circular solutions to regenerate what would otherwise be single-use products. In some cases, you might even use 3D printing to reduce dependence on transport.
- You have some level of storage. Not excessive, but enough to give you a few extra days or weeks when systems fail, instead of relying entirely on just-in-time deliveries.
- You have reduced your energy use as much as possible. That is good for the climate, but it also reduces your exposure to volatile energy prices.
- You have water-saving measures in place, and perhaps access to alternative sources, so you do not waste the resource before you really need it.
- You rely on fossil-free transportation to and from the hospital, reducing your vulnerability to fuel price fluctuations.
- You serve food that is locally produced, supporting farmers who will still be there in a crisis, while also reducing transport dependency.
- And you might produce some of your own energy. Solar, geothermal, solutions that make you a little less dependent on external systems.
If we widen the perspective to climate adaptation, the same logic applies. You have made sure that flooding will not stop your operations. There is a continuity plan. There are ways to get staff and patients to the hospital even under difficult conditions. There is preparedness for situations where the grid goes down, during a heatwave or for other reasons. There are, of course, many more examples. But the pattern is becoming difficult to ignore.
To make this connection between sustainability and resilience even clearer, we are continuing to focus on it. At our conference on October 1st, we will have a session on adaptation. In recent years, we have had speakers on resilience from places like Lebanon and Ukraine, contexts where resilience is not a concept, but a necessity. We also added a section to www.worldsgreenesthospitals.org, highlighting concrete resilience solutions in healthcare, in that section we start up with two solutions from our members, Silentia and MedicSolution. If you have a solution that would fit into this category, don't hesitate to contact us.
Because this is not new. That may be the most frustrating part. If you would like to discuss this further, do not hesitate to contact us.
