A new report examining the actions on climate change by individual Australasian medical colleges – including RANZCO – has found significant variability in their responses to date, ranging from complete avoidance to implementing sustainability into college governance and activities.
The ‘How Colleges Face a Sustainable Future – Actions on climate change by medical colleges and dental associations of Australia and New Zealand’ report has been compiled by New Zealand ophthalmologist Dr Jesse Gale and University of Otago Wellington colleagues Mr Henry Oakley and Associate Professor Caroline Shaw.
The document, released in 2022, provides a report card on the performance of medical colleges who participated in the survey in several areas, with RANZCO performing well on numerous fronts. The authors round out the report with recommendations for colleges to take greater action on climate change (see more below).
The survey approached 21 Australian and New Zealand medical colleges and dental associations to summarise their activities related to sustainability and climate change. Five did not respond, and four declined to participate.
RANZCO’s performance
Despite medical colleges being regarded as peak bodies to carry out leadership, education and advocacy, the voice of doctors on sustainability has been from pan-medical organisations such as the Australian Medical Association. In fact, the Council of Presidents of Medical Colleges (Australia) and Council of Medical Colleges (New Zealand) have not formed a consensus statement on their role in climate change.
In terms of RANZCO’s performance, it rated highly in terms of taking a policy position on sustainability by implementing all three important functions assessed in the report: establishing a sustainability committee, publishing a statement/policy and releasing sustainable practice guidelines.
The authors singled out RANZCO for promoting sustainability to members, with college publications on sustainability, a booth at the congress on ‘Choosing Wisely and Sustainability’, and preferred practice guidelines for reducing waste in cataract surgery.
Editor’s note: Read Insight’s September 2022 feature on sustainable cataract surgery activities, featuring Dr Jesse Gale.
“The practice guidelines importantly are evidence-based to integrate sustainability with safe and high-quality clinical practice, and ongoing updates and revisions on other areas are under development,” the report stated.
When it came to RANZCO’s actions within the college office itself, it achieved two out of four by divested from polluting industries and sustainable building practices, but was yet to measure the carbon footprint of its corporate activities and set and emissions reduction target.
In terms of education and engagement with trainees and fellows, RANZCO scored five out of eight, by adopting measures such as making sustainability a topic at congresses, online education to reduce travel, implementing sustainability into the trainee curriculum, and offering resources to help fellows measure or improve sustainability.
However, the college still needed to work on aspects such as sustainability education for fellows and recognising and promoting sustainable practice.
When it came to external advocacy on sustainability, RANZCO scored well by hitting all four targets, such as participation in the multi-college Climate Change and Health Research Project and advocacy on sustainability with politicians and regulators.
Responses to climate change vary significantly
In their conclusion, the authors noted the medical colleges “fell along a continuum”, with some acting across many areas, and others focused on a smaller range of actions.
“The area that appeared to have the most scope for improvement was in education and engagement with trainees and fellows,” they reported.
“Sustainability education is also lacking in other health professional training, including medical schools. Engagement and education may also build support within the profession for the other college actions on sustainability. It is important to recognise that some colleges and associations did not think sustainability was relevant to them, one stating that climate change was a social issue, and not an issue for their organisation to have a position on.”
However, some colleges are recognising the immediate need to adapt medical systems to the changing climate.
The authors noted that corporate responsibility – through measurement and reduction of emissions from college activities – is “an important signal to college members that we all must act”.
“Doctors and dentists value practical tools for measuring and reducing emissions from clinical practice. These resources must be supported by advocacy to health system leaders and industry to more powerfully facilitate decarbonisation and adaptation of healthcare and society.”
A selection of key recommendations from the report (which can be read in full here), include:
Embedding sustainability in college governance – appointing sustainability representatives at a board level, allocating agenda space, and committing to a sustainable development plan.
Corporate footprints – Recognising and quantifying the emissions from college activities and demonstrating a pathway to net zero across business, buildings and college events. Reporting corporate emissions and reductions in public financial disclosures.
Responsible investment – Declaring an ethical and sustainable investment policy so that colleges are not profiting from polluting industries.
Sustainable events – Hybrid meetings are standard in 2022, and an option to attend meetings virtually in order to reduce travel must continue to be offered. Meetings should be paperless and eliminate consumption of single use items such as cups.
Promoting sustainability – Celebrating the actions of staff and members through college communications and online networks. This includes case studies, promotion of innovations and bold actions.
Resources and tools – Collecting and presenting research about sustainable practice and identifying barriers to adopting this practice. Facilitating methods to measure emissions from practice, and techniques to reduce those footprints.
Facilitating learning on sustainability – Sustainability and sustainable practice should be a curriculum item for trainees. Accreditation of hospitals as training facilities is one mechanism by which colleges can signal the importance of sustainable practice. It should also be a topic for continuing professional development of fellows.
Advocacy to politicians – Colleges, as voices for their profession, should advocate for bold action at high level to decarbonise the health sector and to pursue bold emissions reductions targets across society.
Advocacy to industry – Many innovations in decarbonised healthcare will require industry participation, and colleges can act as a professional voice to signal the importance of these changes.
More reading
RANZCO joins medical colleges calling for climate action
Ophthalmologists sign open letter calling for meaningful action on climate change
How colleges should lead on climate – Medical Journal of Australia
