HIS Statement on Climate Emergency and Environmental Sustainability
The Healthcare Infection Society (HIS) recognises the urgent need to protect planetary health through decarbonisation and other measures to enhance environmental sustainability.
As an organisation dedicated to advancing knowledge, fostering scientific interest, and disseminating information about the prevention and control of healthcare-associated infections (HCAIs), HIS acknowledges the profound interplay between environmental change and infectious disease dynamics. Human-induced environmental changes—such as global heating (climate change), pollution, and biodiversity loss—are exacerbating HCAIs through multiple pathways, with far-reaching impacts on public health and healthcare systems worldwide.
Our Commitment
HIS is committed to advocacy and action to promote planetary health, recognising that ignoring the climate emergency risks undermining efforts to improve health. Our vision is a world where HCAIs are reduced to the lowest possible levels, achievable only by addressing the environmental determinants of health and the interdependence between health systems and the environment.
As part of our commitment to sustainability, HIS has taken steps to integrate responsible practices into our operations and events:
- Sustainable Operations: We are committed to minimising the environmental impact of our headquarters through practices such as waste reduction, recycling, and energy-efficient operations.
- Responsible Investment: Our financial management includes a focus on ethical and environmentally responsible investments.
- Sustainable Conferences and Events:
- To reduce travel emissions, we increasingly offer virtual or hybrid formats for conferences and committee meetings.
- Event menus prioritise carbon-neutral options by reducing red meat and increasing plant-based food offerings.
- We use virtual delegate bags and avoid physical promotional items, aligning with our commitment to reduce single-use materials.
- We work closely with venues to ensure alignment with sustainability goals, including energy efficiency, waste management, and support for sustainable practices.
- Delegates are encouraged to car-share, use public transport, or make use of electric vehicle charging points where available.
- Delegate badges are clip-on and reused, and attendees are encouraged to bring their own lanyards, reusable water bottles, and other sustainable alternatives.
HIS is embedding sustainability into infection prevention and control (IPC) policy, planning, and practice, ensuring balanced decision-making that considers environmental risks alongside infection risks. For example, our forthcoming guidance on Aspergillus prevention integrates environmental considerations throughout its development.
HIS aims to empower healthcare professionals to contribute to sustainable healthcare through:
- Education: Integrating sustainability into our training programmes to inform health professionals about resource stewardship and planetary health.
- Research and Innovation: Supporting research to decarbonise healthcare, including exploring sustainable IPC practices and the safe reuse of medical equipment.
- Advocacy: Promoting effective policies that align healthcare delivery with environmental sustainability goals, from energy-efficient infrastructure to resource conservation.
HIS values partnerships with organisations such as the UK Health Alliance on Climate Change (UKHACC) and other stakeholders to share knowledge, advocate for effective policies, and drive positive changes across health systems.
For more information about our work on environmental sustainability, or to join our IPC sustainability working group, please contact us at admin@his.org.uk.
By embedding sustainability into every facet of our work, HIS is committed to leading by example and empowering the IPC community to respond effectively to the climate emergency while delivering high standards of infection prevention and control.
Some of the connections between environmental change & healthcare associated infections (HCAI)
