A new force to support sustainability in healthcare

Global events of the last two years and their effects on the health and aged care sectors have meant that nurses, clinicians and operational teams all over the world have been required to surpass the expectations anyone ever imagined. During the Covid 19 pandemic, all of our healthcare and aged care clients saw a dramatic increase in their waste outputs, particularly clinical and PPE waste.

Almost overnight, there was a significant increase in clinical waste that needed to be safely disposed of, some areas saw as much as a 400% increase to their waste output, mainly in the form of PPE. Veolia rose to the challenge across the country. Our local team in South Australia provides just one example of some of the measures we took to provide a buoyed, safer service during this difficult period. As a result we were delighted to be presented with an “Above and Beyond” award by SA Health.

Sharpening your focus on the immediate needs of patients, the challenges and opportunities related to sustainability have, in new ways, also heightened.

The challenge of increased PPE, the classification of waste and the overwhelming volumes have placed pressure on an entire supply chain. In response, Veolia rose to the challenge and adapted its collection and disposal methodologies, to ensure continuity of health and aged care services, through safe disposal of medical waste. Now health and aged care practitioners across Australia are driving forward their ambitions to introduce more sustainable solutions.

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Veolia’s goal is to assist the healthcare sector to improve health outcomes for all Australians. With the healthcare sector alone being responsible for 7% of all carbon emissions in Australia, the case for change is clear. In fact, if the healthcare sector were a country, it would be the fifth-largest emitter of CO₂ emissions on the planet¹. Our commitment to innovations in the health sector are exemplified through our energy division and solutions which include microgrids to lower cost of energy, heating ventilation air-conditioning (HVAC), building energy management systems and metering solutions.

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Veolia’s offering in recycling and resource recovery, sustainable water solutions, as well as energy innovations are set to help drive the health and aged care sectors improve their environmental performance, and achieve their climate goals.

What does this mean for Australian health and aged care clients?

With a combined team of close to 6,000 passionate and committed individuals across Australia and New Zealand, Veolia has a long history of working with customers to deliver safe, compliant and innovative solutions. As the healthcare sector continues to focus on improving outcomes as they relate to environmental sustainability, our combined team will work together to bring innovations as they relate to:

• Sector-specific education.
• Clinical waste management, including new reusable sharps and access to an even larger network of collection and treatment capabilities.
• Collaboration with NABERS for a dedicated hospital rating system that seeks to become the benchmark for hospital best practice.
• A renewed focus on organics, often overlooked but a critical element to maximising emissions reductions and landfill diversion.
• Meeting the ever-growing request to segregate and recycle niche products, often requiring cutting edge interventions.
   

More than ever, Veolia is committed to becoming the global champion for ecological transformation. To learn more visit veolia.com/anz

^{1 Health Cares Climate Footprint: How the Health Sector Contributes to the Global Climate Crisis and Opportunities for Action, published by Health Care Without Harm; ARUP, 2019}

Image credit: ©stock.adobe.com/au/malp