Chiesi Group joins Biden Administration pledge to decarbonize healthcare sector

Chiesi joined the Biden Administration for a White House event on June 30, with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), where Maria Paola Chiesi, Shared Value & Sustainability Head of Chiesi Group, and industry colleagues pledged meaningful action to decarbonize the healthcare sector and make healthcare facilities more resilient to the effects of climate change.

The White House recognises the efforts of Chiesi Group taking up the mantle on climate action, going beyond the HHS Health Care Sector Climate Pledge to achieve even greater progress on climate resilience and leading the way on tackling emissions from fluorinated gases used in common devices like inhalers, with the goal of reducing their carbon footprint by at least 90%.
 

Maria Paola Chiesi said: “Sustainability is a journey of continuous learning and improvement, one that requires to unite efforts from all private and public sectors to address a climate crisis is that is, indeed, a health crisis. We at Chiesi are profoundly committed to further advancing towards our sustainability goals and continuing to provide high-quality care for patients. I invite my industry peers to sign the pledge and work together toward a healthier and sustainable future, we owe this to ourselves and, above all, to our children and to the future generations”.

In September 2021, 200 medical journals named climate change the number one threat to global public health. Millions of people living in the United States already experience associated harm - with disproportionate impacts on disadvantaged and underserved communities - through more frequent and intense periods of extreme heat, wildfires, flooding, vector-borne diseases, and other factors that worsen chronic health conditions[1].

The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), part of HHS under the Assistant Secretary for Health, developed the health sector climate pledge in conjunction with the White House to help focus industry response to climate change. In addition to reducing their carbon footprint, signatories also commit to producing detailed plans to build climate resilience for their facilities and the communities they serve.

The White House event included leaders from companies and organizations representing hundreds of hospitals and numerous health centres as well as pharmaceutical companies, medical device-makers, suppliers, and group purchasing organizations. According to HHS Assistant Secretary for Health Admiral Rachel Levine, the healthcare sector accounts for approximately 8.5 percent of U.S. domestic climate-warming emissions[2].

[1] https://www.kff.org/racial-equity-and-health-policy/

[2] Decarbonizing the U.S. Health Sector — A Call to Action Victor J. Dzau, M.D., Rachel Levine, M.D., George Barrett, M.B.A., and Andrew Witty, B.A.