06/06/2025
Glad to see professional groups stepping up and taking a lead
On World Environment Day, RANZCOG's Environmental Sustainability Working Group has issued an updated statement, reaffirming the College's commitment to advocating on the broader determinants of health; social, environmental, cultural and economic. Climate change is a defining health challenge of our time, and there is growing evidence that climate change is associated with increased risks of stillbirth, preterm birth, low birth weight and mental health conditions, and a catalyst for widening health inequality.
The healthcare sector contributes approximately 7% of Australia’s total greenhouse gas emissions, with major contributors including hospitals, pharmaceutical production, medical waste and energy-intensive infrastructure.
We need urgent, coordinated and sustained action from governments, health departments, hospitals, academic institutions and individual clinicians, to reduce the environmental impact of the healthcare sector. Environmental sustainability must be embedded into every level of our healthcare systems; from how we deliver care, to how we educate future practitioners, to how we procure supplies and design infrastructure.
RANZCOG is committed to integrating sustainability principles into the College's own practices. The College will continue to adapt its educational curricula, event operations, digital resource use and travel policies to reduce its environmental footprint. We will continue to engage in advocacy with other health colleges and organisations to amplify the voice of healthcare professionals in shaping environmental policy.
And we will continue to support members and trainees in their day-to-day decisions about resource use, anaesthetic gases or supply chains, as well as in efforts to initiate local sustainability projects and advocate for greener practices in hospitals. Seemingly small individual actions, when amplified across the health system, can drive significant change.
Read the full statement on the College's website, and ask yourself: what role could you play in making healthcare more sustainable?
https://ranzcog.edu.au/resources/statement-on-climate-change/
