CleanMed Europe

Plenary 1 - The 'Green Deal'/Towards more sustainable procurement in healthcare

The 'Green Deal'

The Netherland’s ‘Green Deal’ programme has 41 participating care institutions, 9 ambassadors from the care sector, 10 municipalities, 5 regional implementing agencies, 24 organisations and companies and involves the ministries of Economic Affairs, Infrastructure and Environment and Health, Welfare and Sport.

The Green Deal approach is an accessible way for companies, other stakeholder organisations, local and regional governments, and interest groups to work with the Dutch Central Government on green growth and social issues. The aim is to remove barriers to help sustainable initiatives get off the ground and to accelerate this process where possible. Central Government plays a key role in this area; initiatives often start from the bottom up, in response to societal dynamics.

The goal of the programme is to accelerate the creation of a sustainable care sector, with ambitions for 80% of hospitals and 50% of other care providers to systematically make their operations more sustainable by the end of 2018.

Speakers

Bruno  Bruins - Minister for Medical Care, The Netherlands

The Dutch government supports sustainable economic growth by stimulating sustainable innovation. The Green Deal approach in The Netherlands is an accessible way for companies, other stakeholder organisations, local and regional government, and interest groups to work with Central Government on green growth and social issues. 

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Towards more sustainable procurement in healthcare

Sustainable procurement can drive positive health impacts for patients, communities, and the environment. Public procurement has been identified as a key entry point for promoting more sustainable production and consumption patterns.

The role of procurement in influencing the environmental impact of health sector operations is well acknowledged, and sustainable procurement practices have the capacity to reduce a significant proportion of the health sector’s greenhouse gas emissions.

By adopting sustainable procurement policies, strategies and practices, health systems, governments, and international development actors can, therefore, be drivers for a significant shift towards inclusive, green economies by requiring products and services that are compliant with environmental and social standards throughout their lifecycle.

Speakers

Rosemary Kumwenda - UNDP Regional Team Leader and SPHS Coordinator 

With over 18 years of experience in UNDP at both national and regional levels working on HIV, health, and development, Dr. Kumwenda spent 11 years in Zambia as Assistant Resident Advisors on Poverty, HIV & AIDS. Rosemary also served in the UNDP Malawi Country Office as HIV and AIDS policy Advisor to the Government and led the UN joint teams on HIV and the Law, Key populations, HIV and Gender mainstreaming in development plans and strategies. Now co-ordinator of Sustainable Procurement in the Health Sector (SPHS), Rosemary previously worked at the UNDP Regional Service Centre for Africa as Senior Policy Advisor for Sustainable Responses HIV, Health, and Development.

Susan Wilburn - International Sustainability Director, Health Care Without Harm

Susan Wilburn will give an overview of the power of procurement in driving transformational change in the healthcare sector, including SHiPP - HCWH’s recently-launched Sustainable Health in Procurement Project - a collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Robert Metzke - Chief of Staff Innovation & Strategy and Head of Sustainability, Royal Philips

Robert Metzke will provide an industry perspective of sustainable procurement in healthcare.

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