Environmental responsibility
Environmental responsibility extends throughout our activities. Caring for the environment is part of our responsibility for patients, personnel, and society at large. As a major player, we recognize the fact that our environmental actions have a major impact.
In our day-to-day operations, we have an impact on our environment for instance in waste sorting, energy conservation, responsible product and service procurement, improving the efficiency of facilities and processes, more environment-friendly construction, low-emission energy and fuels, and support for sustainable mobility to our personnel.
Our daily environmental efforts are governed by our environmental program for 2021–2024 and the extensive list of actions derived from that program. It is our goal to make HUS carbon neutral by 2030. To this end, we prepared a climate roadmap on 2022 as the first university hospital in Finland.
You can read more about our corporate responsibility work in our annual report.
At HUS, caring for the environment is part of our responsibility for patients, personnel, and the society at large. We are an example and a forerunner – a responsible actor in the health care sector. Good choices for the environment are also choices for the wellbeing of people.
Environmental responsibility means considering environmental values and taking action to mitigate climate change and halt the impoverishment of nature. Our goal is to be carbon neutral by 2030 and to abide by sustainable development in all our operations.
Environmental and energy efficiency legislation, requirements of environmental permits and our voluntary commitments, such as the Municipal Energy Efficiency Agreement, lay the foundations for environmental work. By acting systematically, we can anticipate, reduce, and monitor our climate and environmental impacts.
The most significant environmental impacts of our activities are related to material flows and energy consumption in medical care and its support functions, as well as in the construction and maintenance of hospital infrastructure.
We are involved in building a resource-wise and sustainable circular economy society. We consider climate, energy and other environmental issues in planning and procurement for our infrastructure and operations. We reduce the quantity of waste we generate through material efficiency, waste minimization and improved waste sorting to enhance recycling.
Active training and communication increase the personnel's awareness of the environmental impacts of their work and their potential for acting in a more environmentally friendly manner. Information about our responsible practices is also available to customers. With our daily choices, all of us have a significant impact on the wellbeing of nature and people.
The updated HUS environmental policy was approved by the HUS Executive Board on December 14, 2020.
Our day-to-day environmental efforts are governed by the goals in the HUS environmental program. The environmental program for 2021–2024 focuses on attaining carbon neutrality, promoting prudent resource management and improving environmental expertise.
The focus points of our environment program are::
1. Carbon neutral and climate-sustainable HUS
- Carbon neutrality 2030
- Energy conservation and renewable energy
- Smart mobility
- Preparing for the impacts of climate change
2. Prudent resource management and the circular economy at HUS
- Reducing waste
- New materials and the circular economy
- Green construction
- Ecologically sustainable procurement
- Chemical and pharmaceutical traces
3. Acknowledging and learning about environmental responsibility at HUS
- Ensuring environmental awareness
- Information and support for daily efforts to help the environment
- Investments in communications and in the sharing of best practices
HUS Environmental program 2021–2024
HUS ympäristöohjelma 2021-2024(pdf 375.77 KB) (opens in new window, links to another website)Energy Efficiency Agreement
Energy Efficiency Agreements are a means chosen jointly by the state and industries to meet the international energy efficiency obligations imposed on Finland. We are part of the Municipal Energy Efficiency Agreement.
Energy efficiency action plan
We have drawn up an energy efficiency agreement action plan for 2017–2025. In the plan, we define the operating model and the sub-objectives according to which we conduct our energy efficiency work.
Climate partnership
We are committed to the Climate Partners cooperation network of the City of Helsinki and business life, where we promote carbon neutrality and the reduction of emissions.