Reports and Publications

Healthy & Sustainable Flooring, choosing resilient flooring for the European healthcare sector

Choosing the ‘right’ floor can be a challenge for procurers and facility managers in hospitals, affecting staff, patients and visitors alike, as the floor is one of the most extensive and visible parts of the healthcare environment and a long-term decision that cannot easily be reversed.  more 

INGES_nano_silver_report

Summary more 

Acting Now for Better Health: A 30% Target for EU Climate

This report sets out new evidence of how higher targets on greenhouse gas emission reductions in the European Union, as part of policy to mitigate climate change, would bring about health gains for Member States and European citizens. more 

Healthy Hospitals, Healthy Planet, Healthy People: Addressing Climate Change in Health Care Settings

(Discussion Draft) This 32-page discussion draft produced by the World Health Organization and Health Care Without Harm says that the healthcare sector can lead the way against climate change. A radical overhaul of energy consumption in healthcare must take place if Europe is to meet a target of an 80% cut in carbon emissions by 2050. A new report by HCWH and the World Health Organization shows how the health sector can improve energy efficiency and adopt greener approaches to its services. more 

GGHC's Environmentally Preferable Purchasing: Food Credit Technical Briefing

(GGHC Food Service Credits 1 to 7) This 12-page document, also known as the GGHC v2.2 revised 2008 Food Service section, encourages healthy food purchasing for health care facilities in several ways: 1) adopting a sustainable food policy and plan; 2) educational outreach both to facility staff and the surrounding community; 3) local, sustainably produced food purchasing; 4) use of reusable and environmentally preferred non-reusable food service ware items; 5) support of local farms, farmers’ markets, and community supported agriculture; 6) food donation and waste reduction; 7) alignment of food vendor options with the facility’s healthy, sustainable food program. more 

End of an Era: The Phase-out of Mercury-Based Blood Pressure Measurement Devices

The European Parliament has mandated a review of the technical and economic feasability of alternatives to mercury column sphygmomanometers — medical devices used to measure blood pressure. This brief report provides an overview of the tremendous success the US healthcare community has experienced in delivering safe, accurate, affordable mercury-free blood pressure measurement. We hope it will benefit the deliberations in the EU. more