"Sustainability is high on our agenda," says Marloes van den Berg, Chief Sustainability Officer at Jaarbeurs. "We believe in a world where we treat each other and our environment with care. Especially during the corona crisis, Jaarbeurs put extra effort into sustainability. In the field of healthcare, Jaarbeurs is creating a meeting place for professionals and organisations with its Dutch Health Hub initiative. A place to exchange ideas, gain knowledge and inspiration and to work together; also in the field of sustainability. In this way, the Jaarbeurs wants to contribute to the movement that enables and accelerates sustainable care.
Motion
"With our Dutch Health Hub, we are committed to affordable, better and more sustainable care with a greater focus on health and prevention," responds Dutch Health Hub director Ruud Koolen. "We want to bring parties together and set them in motion, create new coalitions that cooperate and innovate. This is where the movement that facilitates and accelerates sustainable care grows."
Accelerate
The Green Deal Sustainable Care aims to jointly accelerate the sustainability of the healthcare sector. Signatories are committed to reducing CO2 emissions in the sector, among other things. They are also committed to circular operations and reducing the amount of medicine residues in surface and groundwater. In addition, they are working towards a living environment in and outside healthcare institutions that promotes the health of everyone.
Optimal meeting
The Dutch Health Hub fulfils this objective by actively bringing together relevant parties at the intersection of healthcare and greening, online and offline. "In doing so, we create the most optimal meeting in a form that suits the needs of the healthcare professional," Koolen explains. "In the most sustainable and efficient way."
In concrete terms, this means that the Dutch Health Hub creates and distributes content on best practices through its own channels, offers sustainability advocates a platform and brings parties together on this topic, among other things.
Signatories
Since its launch in 2018, more than 150 parties have joined the Green Deal Sustainable Care. The majority are healthcare providers in both curative and long-term care, but industry organisations, companies, governments and environmental services have also committed. Among the participants are names such as the Dutch Association of Hospitals (NVZ), Intrakoop, Menzis, Eneco, Philips and ZonMW.
Multiplier
Former healthcare executive Cathy van Beek, closely involved in the Green Deal as quartermaster for sustainable healthcare, strongly welcomes the joining of the Dutch Health Hub and Jaarbeurs. "It is very important that the Dutch Health Hub, embedded in the rapidly greening Jaarbeurs, has signed. I see many opportunities for innovative greening of healthcare with the Dutch Health Hub as both multiplier and multiplier."
