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Home > News > Announcement Seed Fund Grantees Circular Safe Hospitals

On June 27, 2024, the institute for a Circular Society (i4CS) launched its Seed Fund Call, inviting researchers from EWUU alliance partners to submit proposals aimed at advancing circular solutions for Circular Safe Hospitals. To kickstart the collaborative process, a dynamic one-day pressure cooker session was organised on September 26 in partnership with UMC Utrecht. We are pleased to present four projects containing 23 researchers who have been awarded seed grants.

Sustainable Alternatives to Laboratory Consumables: Identifying Hotspots in Hospitals and Research Institutions

This project aims to analyze the most commonly used laboratory consumables at UMC Utrecht hospital and university laboratories, focusing on disposable materials like pipette tips and single-use plastics, as well as essential reagents. By leveraging procurement data, the team will identify high-impact consumables in terms of quantity, costs, and environmental footprint. The findings will guide the development of actionable recommendations for more sustainable practices, such as reusable or biodegradable alternatives.

The project employs a phased approach: data collection from procurement departments, analysis to identify environmental hotspots, and a literature review to explore circular alternatives. Key outcomes will include a dataset quantifying consumable use, a list of sustainable recommendations, and stakeholder-validated strategies grounded in the “rethink, refuse, reuse, refurbish, recycle” framework. By integrating environmental science expertise from WUR with healthcare insights from UMC Utrecht, the project exemplifies a transdisciplinary approach with real-world applicability. It addresses knowledge gaps in lab sustainability while laying the groundwork for scalable interventions to reduce the sector’s reliance on critical raw materials and lower its carbon footprint.

Team:

Innovative public procurement instruments to facilitate circularity by hospitals 

The Dutch healthcare sector significantly contributes to greenhouse gas emissions (7% of national emissions) and material extraction (13%), with procurement playing a critical role. Despite growing recognition of the environmental impact of disposable medical devices, sustainable procurement remains underutilized due to the complexity of procurement processes and a lack of expertise in implementing circular practices. This project aims to address these challenges by investigating how innovative procurement instruments, such as market consultations, functional specifications, and value engineering clauses, can drive circularity and foster collaborations between hospitals, suppliers, and other stakeholders. The research focuses on high-impact areas like disposable medical devices, exploring strategies to connect supply chains, reduce raw material use, and shorten material loops.

Using a design science approach, the study combines desk research, stakeholder interviews at UMC Utrecht, and focus group discussions to develop practical guidelines for integrating circularity into hospital procurement processes. Key research questions include how hospitals can improve procurement processes to accommodate innovative tools and how these instruments can facilitate collaboration and circular innovation. Insights will be applied to high-impact areas such as operating rooms, with recommendations generalizable to healthcare settings across Europe. The project supports Green Deal targets by promoting decarbonization and socially responsible procurement while demonstrating the value of circular strategies in advancing a sustainable healthcare system.

Team

Shining a light on materials use: critical lifecycle assessment and knowledge sharing on childbirth in Suriname and the Netherlands

During the 77th World Health Assembly in May 2024, WHO member states, including co-sponsor The Netherlands, adopted a resolution on Climate Change and Health. This project aligns with the resolution by facilitating knowledge exchange on circular material use in healthcare between Suriname and the Netherlands, with findings to be shared through the WHO’s Alliance for Transformative Action on Climate and Health (ATACH). It emphasizes the valuable lessons that low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) like Suriname can offer high-income countries (HICs), particularly in sustainable and climate-resilient healthcare practices. Using childbirth procedures (vaginal and cesarean) as a case study, the research will explore life cycle assessments (LCA) at Academic Hospital Paramaribo and UMC Utrecht, focusing on circular material use and intergenerational justice.

The project combines ethnographic and quantitative methods, including field observations, healthcare worker interviews, and lifecycle analyses, to develop replicable protocols for circular healthcare practices. Collaborative data collection and analysis by researchers from both countries will inform recommendations for sustainable procurement and circularity in childbirth procedures. Additionally, an ethnographic film will highlight the cultural dimensions of healthcare practices, raising awareness and fostering stakeholder engagement. By co-producing knowledge that values underrepresented perspectives, this initiative aims to create actionable insights for circular healthcare applicable to global contexts.

Team

Shifting mindsets towards a more responsible and circular relationship with surgical robots  

This project addresses the environmental and social impacts of robotic surgery, particularly in urological procedures like cystectomy. While robotic surgery offers advantages such as greater precision and reduced recovery time, it also generates significant waste and greenhouse gas emissions, primarily due to single-use medical devices. A single robotic procedure can emit up to 814 kg of CO2, three times more than traditional surgery. This research aims to fill the knowledge gap on the planetary health perspective of circularity, focusing on how healthcare professionals’ (HCPs) awareness of these environmental impacts can drive demand for more sustainable alternatives. It explores how cultivating values and principles around material use can lead to behavior change, increasing circularity in robotic surgery.

The study will involve a comprehensive analysis, including a Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) of robotic versus open surgery, qualitative research on the social impacts of robotic surgery, and a True Cost Analysis (TCA) of both surgical methods. The project will also investigate the reusability of surgical instruments within existing robotic systems, aiming to identify design improvements for greater sustainability. The findings will be presented through a visual art intervention at UMC Utrecht, aiming to provoke reflection and foster mindset shifts among HCPs. Pre- and post-assessments will be conducted to measure any changes in attitudes toward material use and sustainability, ultimately contributing to a more circular approach in healthcare.

Team

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