The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care and eleven national organizations representing all areas of the health sector, joined by the David Suzuki Foundation, have produced a joint statement spelling out a new commitment to creating an environmentally responsible health sector.

The two-page statement issues three separate calls to action:

• people working in the health sector are urged to be models for and advocates of environmentally responsible approaches to delivering care;
• health care organizations are asked to pledge to minimize the negative impact their activities have on the environment;
• governments and policy-makers are asked to recognize links between health and the environment, and to respond by taking legislative and budgetary action.

The statement also calls on health facilities to adopt “best practices” that range from taking steps to save energy to the establishment of “green teams” that will promote environmentally sensitive practices such as waste reduction and the use of “safer substitutes” to reduce exposure to toxins.

“This Joint Position Statement is an unprecedented show of commitment and support for the adoption of sustainable health care practices from Canada's major health service organizations and the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Our members are proud to have played an active role in its development. The Statement further reinforces our decade-long commitment to working with a broad range of stakeholders to positively influence the ecological impact of the Canadian health care system.”
—Kent Waddington, Founding Director

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