Healthcare must become greener – at the same time, patients must always come first

Erlend Tuseth Aasheim will give an environmental lecture during the Green Congress 2026. He will show how the health and care services can cut emissions, use resources smarter – and at the same time be better equipped to face climate change.

“The health and care services should treat patients, protect and promote health. That is precisely why we must also take climate change seriously,” says Aasheim. He is the director of sustainable health and care services at the Norwegian Directorate of Health.

He led the work on the Roadmap for a sustainable, low-emission and climate-adapted health service, launched in 2025. It points to concrete measures for hospitals, municipalities and other parts of the service.

Climate is also health

Climate change is not just an environmental problem – it directly affects health. Extreme weather, heat, floods and forest fires can lead to more illness and greater pressure on health services.

“We have to do two things at the same time: cut emissions and build a robust health service. It is not a choice between climate and patient care,” says Aasheim.

A large climate footprint

The healthcare sector accounts for significant emissions. How we purchase, use equipment and set up services has a major impact.

• Our review shows that emissions from the healthcare sector in Norway amount to around 4 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents. The contributions from specialist healthcare services and municipal healthcare and care services are approximately equal. The supply chain of medicines and materials accounts for the majority of the emissions, he says.

What can be done – in practice?

The roadmap brings together over 100 measures within, among other things:

• health care and prevention
• purchasing
• transportation
• circular economy
• construction and energy
• digitization

– The roadmap is not a new list of requirements, but a practical toolbox – with measures the health service can use to cut emissions and become more robust. The point is to make it easier to get started, says Aasheim.

Better resource use leads to better health

Many climate measures are also about quality of service.

“The most sustainable thing is often to avoid what is not needed. Overtreatment and unnecessary use of equipment do not lead to better health,” he says.

Another approach is to carry out the treatment in a more environmentally friendly way. For example, using tablets instead of intravenous treatment when appropriate. This results in lower costs and lower emissions, while avoiding a potential gateway for infection for patients.

- Green congresses are also mentioned in the Roadmap, as a measure to reduce travel-related emissions at congresses while achieving good professional benefits, says Aasheim.