ECHO Planetary Health & Sustainable Care

This peer learning series is presented by the Collaborative Centre for Climate, Health & Sustainable Care in partnership with the CASCADES Network.

The Planetary Health & Sustainable Care ECHO offers a collaborative space for people in the Canadian healthcare sector to discuss, troubleshoot, and celebrate efforts to provide climate resilient and responsible care across settings and specialties.

Registration is open on a rolling basis, meaning those interested can register at any time throughout the cycle and attend any number of sessions. View full details of each session here.

Once registered, you’ll receive a calendar invitation to the entire cycle (all 8 sessions).

# Cycle Overview

The ability to deliver high-quality care and extend the responsibilities of health services to future generations requires careful stewardship of resources and consideration of the broader impacts of healthcare delivery on the environment, and the determinants of health. When care is provided, we must ensure it is appropriate to avoid harmful overuse and underuse. And when appropriate care is provided, we must ensure it is as sustainable as possible to enhance the health sector’s climate resilience and reduce its contributions to climate change and other environmental problems.  These efforts are deeply tied to achieving quality co-benefits, such as improving patient outcomes and reducing costs.

In this ECHO cycle, we will explore resource stewardship as a key component in the delivery of high-quality, truly sustainable care. Through brief lectures and case presentations from a variety of sites and settings, we will consider the following two themes:

1. RETHINK: Considering practice and operational changes that reduce the use of unnecessary products and services
   • Possible topics include testing, prescribing, PPE use, supply management, and more
2. REPLACE: Considering more sustainable alternatives to environmentally impactful products and services
   • Possible topics include reusable products, circular economy policies and procurement practices, sustainable care pathways, food services, digital health technologies, and more

Topics will be determined in part based on case presentation proposals submitted by participants. A final agenda will be circulated in advance of the first session.

Each session features a topic of interest grounded by experts in the field and brought to life by case studies shared by participants (to be arranged in advance); these can include: 

• The implementation of completed projects/efforts (can be successful or failed projects)
• Experiences from the “messy middle” of implementing change
• Contemplated changes in a particularly challenging area/topic for which advice/guidance is sought

An in-depth discussion of each case will yield recommendations for presenters where they are sought, and insights on and inspiration for sustainability efforts for all participants, which they can in turn share with their own networks to spread good sustainability practice.

Any resources discussed during a session will be shared via the ECHO website, where participants can also find discussion boards and summaries of cases and recommendations.

While participants are encouraged to attend every session to grow their network and better explore the nuances of sustainability implementation, the syllabus will be posted in advance to allow for attendance at sessions of interest.