The goal of the CARING NATURE project is to develop and validate a set of 10 healthcare specific and sustainable solutions for carbon emissions and pollution (CEP) reduction.

The healthcare sector is responsible for 4-5% of global total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, not only in hospitals but also in other health and care entities, with a share of roughly 50%. However, health and care providers (HCP) have traditionally been structures where little attention has been given to operational costs and energy saving as HCPs prioritize patient care. With projected annual greenhouse gas emissions from the healthcare sector set to rise dramatically by 2050, urgent action to reduce the impact on the environment is needed, without compromising the safety of patients and staff.

CARING NATURE's 10 targeted solutions aim to reduce the environmental impact of buildings, waste and patient travel, and increase governance capability and staff engagement towards this reduction. They are divided into 7 'primary' solutions, which address the main sources of carbon emissions and pollution over which health service providers have exclusive control, and 3 'enabling' solutions, which support staff and management engagement and enable the widespread adoption of the 7 'primary' solutions (and similar solutions, even if not developed as part of the project).

The message “Sustainable solutions for green health and care” in the project’s logo means that greener health and care systems can be obtained only if the solutions are environmentally effective, economically affordable, and acceptable by patients, workers, and citizens. The 10 solutions of the CARING NATURE project, which brings together 19 partners from 11 European countries, will be demonstrated in 33 use cases.

DIN as the German National Standardization Body and member of CEN and ISO is responsible for the Standardization activities and provides knowledge about existing standards and standardization activities as well as know-how about the standardization process. Furthermore, DIN will support the identification of standardization potentials in the project and ensure that the results of CARING NATURE are presented in the relevant standardization bodies at European or international level. If suitable project results are identified, DIN will apply for a public CEN workshop to develop a CEN Workshop Agreement (CWA) or contribute to ongoing standardization activities.

For further information please go to the Caring Nature project webseite or the website of the European Comission.

Project duration

01/2024 – 12/2026

Project coordination

Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore (Coordinator) (UCSC), Italy

Project partners

• Cyprus University of Technology (CUT), Cyprus
• Lappeenrannan-Lahden Teknillinen Yliopisto (LUT) Finland
• University College Dublin (UCD), Ireland
• University of West Attica (UNIWA), Greece
• Archipelago Architects (ARPEL), Belgium
• 4D Architects (4DA), Netherlands
• ERCS LTD (ERCS), Cyprus
• Idea75 SRL (I75), Italy
• G.A.C. (GAC), France
• RINA Consulting SPA (RINA-C), Italy
• Software Imagination & Vision srl (SIMAVI), Romania
• Deutsches Institut für Normung e.V. (DIN), Germany
• Fondazione Policlinico Universitario A. Gemelli IRCCS (FPG), Italy
• Fundacion Privada Hospital Asil Degranollers (FHAG), Spain
• Universitatsklinikum Heidelberg (UKHD), Germany
• Päijät-Hämeen hyvinvointialue (WPH), Finland
• 7th Health Region Crete (7HRC), Greece
• Erasmus Universiteit Rotterdam (EUR), Netherlands

Project funding

Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.