Occupational health aspects of health sector green initiatives

The health sector is a major component of the economy and community in which health facilities operate.  Health facilities can be complex and hazardous as a workplace regarding energy and resource-intensive operations, as well as produce significant amounts of infectious and toxic waste.WHO's greening health sector initiative is part of the work on Health in the Green Economy which analyses climate change mitigation and "green growth" strategies in five economic sectors: transport, housing, health care facilities; household energy in developing countries, and agriculture. This series of analyses identifies opportunities for the health sector to play a leadership role in environmental sustainability and climate mitigation and to demonstrate the health, economic and social co-benefits of so doing. The goal of greening health sector efforts is to protect patients and health workers while preventing and controlling environmental harm.  Green jobs in the health sector include those with safer chemicals, renewable energy sources, energy efficient devices and practices, and where waste workers are valued members of the health care team and facilitate the safe management of health care waste. WHO and ILO link occupational health with green jobs in the health sector as part of their joint global framework for national occupational health programmes for health workers. Green health care facilities lead by example and adhere to the philosophy to "first do no harm".