Towards zero emissions in healthcare: The Italian experience

Following major investments mostly funded by the European Union, Italy has recently begun the transition towards the decarbonisation of its healthcare system. In this chapter, we critically investigate some of the initial efforts aiming to achieve a resilient, zero-emissions healthcare system in the Italian peninsula. To do so, we use the healthcare decarbonisation roadmap developed by Health Care Without Harm. This features three interrelated pathways guided by seven critical actions that intend to accelerate the decarbonisation process at the system and organisational levels. Regarding Actions 1 and 2, we introduce examples of maximisation of energy efficiency in existing hospitals and present case studies of state-of-the-art construction of new zero-emissions hospital infrastructure in the Tuscany region. Regarding Actions 3 and 4, we explore how the role of mobility manager has been implemented in the Emilia-Romagna region and discuss two sustainable food and travel projects developed in a hospital in Lombardy. For Actions 5, 6, and 7, we report successful examples of green management of healthcare processes and related components. In the last section, we then focus on the challenges of decarbonisation from a managerial perspective and highlight some key factors in support of the green transition in the Italian healthcare system.