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Greening healthcare
Can we save lives and save the planet? Hear how the healthcare sector is tracking, finding solutions and making changes, to be more sustainable and green.
Healthcare is both significantly affected by, and is a contributor to, climate change. If the global health sector were a country, it would be the fifth largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the world.
So, how can Australia work towards a more sustainable healthcare system, without compromising on quality and safety?
With growing recognition of the close-knit ties between health and climate action, there is a lot of hope and energy driving new sustainable collaborations and innovations. In this Sydney Ideas event, hear about exciting developments and work in this space led by Sydney Environment Institute experts.
- Sustainability researcher Dr Amanda Irwin from the Integrated Sustainability Analysis team, explains the impact of health on the environment; and how this compares with other sectors and industries, at a national and global level.
- Cardiology Professor David Celermajer provides a clinical perspective on how practitioners and patients engage with treatment choices and green options.
- Public health researcher Rashmi Venkatraman is currently working as a strategic and advisory consultant on projects within the global public health, international development and humanitarian sectors.
- Host: science communicator Dr Naomi Koh Belic
This event is presented with Sydney Environment Institute.
This event was held on Tuesday 22 August, 6pm (AEST) at the University of Sydney
Watch the video
Listen to the podcast
The speakers
David Celermajer, Sydney Local Health District and University of Sydney
Professor David Celermajer AO is the Scandrett Professor of Cardiology at the University of Sydney and the Clinical Director of the Heart Research Institute. He is an Academic Cardiologist at Royal Prince Alfred Hospital where he is Director of Adult Congenital Heart Services Director of Research. He is a Fellow of the Australian Academy of Science and a Board Member at Heart Kids Australia.
Dr Amanda Irwin, University of Sydney sustainability researcher
Dr Amanda Irwin is the Head of ESG Research at FairSupply, and a Lecturer with the Integrated Sustainability Analysis group at the University of Sydney. Her PhD developed a methodology for consumption-based accounting of global biodiversity loss, and she now applies her expertise and knowledge across a range of sustainability challenges, most recently working on a project to calculate the carbon cost of treatment options in health.
Rashmi Venkatraman, Senior global public health professional
Rashmi Venkatraman is a senior global public health and international development professional currently working as a strategic and advisory consultant on directing, designing and managing projects, programmes, policies and campaigns within the global public health, international development and humanitarian sectors.
She is a Doctor of Public Health Candidate at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and her research focuses on themes of health systems resilience, climate change adaptation, disaster risk reduction, sexual and reproductive health and rights, and global health diplomacy. She is also on the steering committee with the CliMigHealth Network, which is a global network of academics and practitioners working on the migration, health(care) and climate change nexus.
Host: Dr Naomi Koh Belic, Science communicator
Dr Naomi Koh Belic 許佳丽 (she/her) is a second-generation Australian and a first-generation university graduate. Her PhD in stem cell biology was awarded from University of Technology Sydney. Naomi is passionate about making science accessible and was a science presenter for Discovery Channel and ABC. Her freelance work focuses on amplifying voices of underrepresented communities, such as her ongoing projects with DeadlyScience.
More ideas and references
- Duty of Care Bill
- Decarbonising clinical care in Australia (Deeble Institute, Australian Healthcare and Hospital Association 2022) – briefing paper co-authored by Sydney Environment Institute member Kirsten Pickles
Header image: Surgeon Samriti Sood at work. Photo by Louise Cooper for The University of Sydney