Becoming a climate-friendly hospital : the future for organisations within the Australian healthcare context

A transitional shift has begun to emerge within the Australian health care context. This shift is due to the recognition of climate change and its impacts upon the health of Australians. In 2008, the World Health Organisation and Healthcare Without Harm collaborated in a project to help mitigate the carbon footprint within global health di-visions. The organisations identified seven key areas pertinent to the success of the project. Despite the slow transition from a traditional healthcare system to a climate-friendly system in recent years, a percentage of Australian hospitals are engaging pro-actively to modify their practices. With an impending carbon taxation set to commence 01 July 2012, the future of providing a viable health care system in regards to an Australian context will be economically challenging. The adaptive capacity and the vulnerability of both staff and organisation will see the project come under close scrutiny.