Clean environment

When working on people's health, it is inappropriate to simultaneously pollute the environment, causing people to become ill or making it uninhabitable for future generations. Through energy consumption, we pollute the air and contribute to climate change, which can also have major consequences for health and healthcare. The use of materials and products depletes raw materials and pollutes surface water and soil, for example through medicines. This, in turn, can have consequences for people's health, such as resistance and hormone disruption.

Goals

UMC Utrecht wants to contribute to a healthier life, which also means polluting the world around you as little as possible and keeping it livable for future generations. 

We strive for: 

• CO2 neutral: we consume substantially less energy, and what we use is generated sustainably or sourced sustainably.
•  Circular: we no longer produce waste, but only raw materials that can be reused or recycled to a high standard.

We choose to focus on reducing CO2 emissions that are both large and controllable. To close resource cycles, we focus on reducing the amount of waste through a combination of prevention and improving the reuse and recycling of waste.

In concrete terms, this means that the organization will focus on the four challenges in the coming years:

1. Realizing sustainable housing based on the principles of energy neutrality and circularity (contributes to CO2 neutrality and the closing of raw material cycles).
2. Making our energy supply sustainable (contributes to carbon neutrality).
3. Promoting cycling and public transport and reducing car use (contributes to carbon neutrality).
4. Reducing waste and emissions (contributes to carbon neutrality and closing raw material cycles)

UMC Utrecht has had an ISO 14001 certified environmental management system for the entire organization for 20 years, making it the only hospital in the Netherlands to do so. In addition to structured attention to environmental care, the system helps us to continuously reduce our environmental impact.

CO2 neutral

UMC Utrecht aims to become carbon neutral. This means that the organization will no longer have net CO2 emissions. The organization's CO2 footprint serves as the starting point. In 2019, our CO2 footprint was 45,940 tonnes. All emissions that are part of the footprint must be reduced to zero. We are using the following approach to achieve this:

• Step 1: Limiting energy demand
• Step 2: Using renewable energy
• Step 3: Use of residual fossil fuels as efficiently and cleanly as possible
• Step 4: Compensation 

Below are some projects we are working on to reduce our CO2 emissions:

Sustainable building

Sustainability is included in our Strategic Development Plan for Housing (SOH). We are establishing a central framework for sustainable construction and further developing the themes of CO2 reduction, circularity, health, and climate resilience. Together with the roadmap to carbon-neutral real estate, this forms the framework for future construction projects.    

Energy saving

UMC Utrecht has drawn up an energy saving plan for 2017-2020. It outlines the measures with which we can improve our energy efficiency by 18%. These include technical measures such as installing more LED lighting and insulation, but also measures that result in lower CO2 emissions throughout the supply chain, such as purchasing green electricity (Dutch wind), reducing car use by employees and patients, and reducing paper usage. Read more

Mobility/transport

Approximately one-third of our CO2 emissions are related to the transport of patients, visitors, employees, and students. Mobility measures are therefore of great importance to achieve the target and to keep UMC Utrecht accessible in the coming years. We have already taken various measures to limit car use and encourage even more employees to travel by bicycle or public transport, such as providing more bicycle parking facilities, free bicycle checks, the e-bike purchase scheme, and discounts on bus passes for employees. Every two years, we investigate how patients and employees travel to UMC Utrecht.

Solar panels

In 2016, we installed 2,400 solar panels on the roof. These panels produce approximately 560,000 kWh of sustainable electricity annually. This corresponds to the electricity consumption of about 170 households or, for example, 278,000 MRI scans. We make the current yield visible via the energy monitor. In addition to the sustainable power they generate, the solar panels were also manufactured in a sustainable and socially responsible manner. 

Solar panels on the roof of UMC Utrecht

Iframe video

Scan the QR code above with your phone to watch a video about this topic. Or watch the video via:

Link to Solar panels roof UMC Utrecht

Circular

UMC Utrecht strives to close raw material cycles to prevent the depletion of these substances. After use, raw materials and materials must re-enter the cycle so that they are reused, rather than being incinerated. The aim is an organization that no longer produces waste. 

To close raw material cycles, there are various potential solutions, such as:

• Prevention; preventing or reducing the generation of waste. And preventing or reducing emissions to water, soil, and air.
• High-quality (re)use; by repairing or replacing components during the use phase, reuse of products by ourselves or others, refurbishing a product after the use phase, and recycling the materials into new raw materials.

Circular procurement plays an important role in both solution directions, because through circular procurement you can buy products that are made for reuse, last a long time, and are repairable; buy products made from reused materials (reducing ‘virgin materials’); pay for use instead of buying products (‘pay per use’); and/or share products.

Procurement impact analysis 

Commissioned by UMC Utrecht, consultancy firm CE Delft investigated the societal impact of all product groups purchased by UMC Utrecht. Based on the environmental indicators climate impact (CO2), harm to human health, harm to ecosystems, and harm to raw material availability, a calculation and/or estimate was made for each product group. This shows that pharmaceuticals, energy, implants, and medical disposables are the four most burdensome product groups at UMC Utrecht. With the results Based on this research, UMC Utrecht can prioritize and further improve its sustainability.  

Green Deal Circular Procurement

In 2013, the UMC Utrecht the Green Deal Circular Procurement signedThere are already several interesting cases in this area, for example the circular procurement of office furniture and workwear.

Green pharmacy

Through the Green Pharmacy project, we aim to contribute to limiting the contamination of water, air, and food with medicines. We do this by preventing the waste of medicines, increasing knowledge and awareness, and serving as a testing ground for pilots involving purification techniques. In 2016, we analyzed our wastewater for the presence of medicines. Additionally, we analyzed the wastewater before and after the central wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) in Utrecht. This revealed that many different medicines (and their residues) are discharged via our wastewater in varying concentrations. The extent to which these medicines are removed by the WWTP also varies. Together with KWR Waterresearch, we are investigating the possibilities of removing medicine residues from wastewater via adsorption. Following laboratory-scale research, a pilot took place in 2018 on two nursing wards at the UMC Utrecht using an adsorbent for diclofenac. Furthermore, an international conference on Green Pharmacy took place at the UMC Utrecht in late October.

Reducing food waste

At UMC Utrecht, we are working on the reducing food wasteSince the baseline measurement in 2013, the percentage of food waste has decreased by 23%. Within the Nutrition cluster, various measures have been implemented, and divisions have set to work to bring the percentage of untouched meals below 5%. Our target for 2020 is a 35% reduction in food waste compared to 2013. Read more >

Source separation

In addition to the various waste streams that have long been collected separately, UMC Utrecht started the separate collection of PMD (plastic, metal, and beverage packaging) and organic waste in public areas and office zones in 2018. New waste bins were purchased for this purpose. Separate collection of plastic in the operating rooms also started in 2018. From 2019, source separation is being rolled out to the laboratories and nursing wards. We work closely with our waste processor. In doing so, we ensure that the collected waste streams are actually offered for reuse. Read more