Like businesses, hospitals also face many challenges in terms of social and environmental responsibility (CSR). In many establishments, this translates into the implementation of concrete actions, whether in terms of welcoming patients, managing resources and the quality of life at work for caregivers. In this article, we offer you an overview.
What are the links between CSR and the hospital?
Like any other human activity, the hospital has an impact on the environment, the social context, and society as a whole. Thus, healthcare establishments now integrate CSR initiatives in the same way as French companies so that this impact is positive or neutral.
Although their main mission remains health, hospitals are increasingly thinking about the management of their waste (food but also material), their energy consumption, or the use of natural resources such as water. In addition, the CSR approach of hospitals naturally tends to integrate social and societal issues. Indeed, the social objectives particularly affect the hospital whose main mission is to help people, especially the most vulnerable.
Respecting the rights of the hospital’s stakeholders and promoting their well-being is also a key issue in the hospital’s CSR approach. Working conditions that do not take social risks into consideration can have direct negative consequences on caregivers, but also on patients and their families who are often already vulnerable.
2 Examples of CSR approaches implemented in hospitals
Here are some concrete examples of CSR initiatives implemented in various healthcare establishments.
The Hospices Civils of Lyon
The civil hospices of Lyon have developed a relatively advanced CSR approach. They themselves describe this approach as having “an objective of setting an example in terms of sustainable development and eco-responsible transition”. It includes among others:
- And CSR steering committee open to all stakeholder representatives;
- And local CSR committeein charge of driving policy in the field and monitoring actions in favor of sustainable development;
- An action plan aimed at accelerating the reduction of their energy consumption;
- Operating theaters that are more respectful of the environment, in particular through the purchase of responsible products, the reduction in the number of orders and the optimization of consumables (for example anesthetic gases);
- Responsible food: local supply, short circuits and organic are favored when possible;
- A sustainable mobility plan intended to transform the modes of travel of professionals and users;
- A sustainable financing policy…
Assistance-Publique Hospitals of Paris
The hospitals of Paris have already committed themselves at the local level via numerous projects, such as:
- The recycling of metal to the block;
- The elimination of the most polluting anesthetic gases, in particular Desflurane;
- Improving access to hospitals by bicycle for staff, in particular by installing 3,000 bicycle spaces and setting up repair workshops;
- The removal of plastic bottles with the installation of water fountains for staff and patients;
- The establishment of an eco-maternity program;
- The integration and increase of organic and labeled food…
Nicomak supports healthcare establishments in the implementation of their CSR approach. Contact us today to jointly develop a relevant strategy for all your stakeholders and implement the CSR actions that best suit your healthcare establishment.
