Strategic Area 1: Climate and health

Climate change and environmental degradation affect the health of the population, particularly the disadvantaged. For the HUG, the challenges are multiple :

• to anticipate the spread of diseases and how often they occur
• to adapt the infrastructure to climate change
• reduce the hospitals’ direct and indirect greenhouse gas emissions.

The HUG are committed to moving towards Net zero emission in hospital activities. In order to achieve this ambition, they intend to adopt a climate action plan and objectives for 2030 and 2050, in order to reduce their direct and indirect emissions and the impact of climate change on their activities and on healthcare.

• Adopt a climate action plan
• Renovate the last stage of the Maternity Hospital
• Integrate sustainability criteria into projects, especially major projects
• Install 4,200 m2 of additional solar panels
• Increase the green areas on the Cluse Roseraie site by 10%
• Reduce individual motorized transport by 10%
• Reduce emissions from air travel business trips by 50%
• Reduce anesthetic gas emissions by 70%
• Reduce the amount of drugs disposed of by 20%

Find out how we’ve progressed with the actions that contribute to achieving the Climate and Health axis goals.

19 actions underway | 9 actions completed | 1 action to initiate

A few achievements

Reduce energy consumption

• Total energy consumption is steadily decreasing. It fell from 176 GWh in 2021 to 139 GWh in 2024 (-21%).
• Energy-saving campaigns 2023-2024 
  • 1.1 GWh of electricity savings  (-2.0%)
  • 5.5 GWh of heating savings  (-5.5%)

Production and consumption of renewable energy

• 4,126 m2 of solar panels installed (+47% between 2021 and 2024)
• In 2024, an additional 478 m2 of photovoltaic solar panels were installed and put into operation on the roofs of the buildings adjacent to the new helipad
• Investment loan of CHF 55 million investment approved for the transition to renewable energy for the four boiler plants and the heating networks

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Increase the use of sustainable mobility for commuting

• 60% of HUG staff are eco-mobile
• Achievement of the « eco-mobile institution » label in 2023
• + 28% bicycle parking spaces compared to 2021 (1 505 spaces in 2024)

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Integrate the environmental dimension into medical and nursing practices

• Launch of the internal "eco-units" labeling for care units. 
• Development of a catalog of approximately forty technical sheets which, through various actions, aim to reduce the climate impact of medical-care practices and serve as a support for the "eco-units" labeling process
• -70% reduction in anesthetic gas emissions (between 2021 and 2024)
  • Discontinued use of Desflurane use, an anesthetic gas with a high climate impact, in the Anesthesiology Department in 2022
  • Reduction in the use of nitrous oxide (N2O), another anesthetic gas with a high climate impact

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Reduce the effects of heatwaves and promote biodiversity

• In 2024, the HUG became the first European hospital to obtain the Swiss "Bourgeon Bio Suisse" label
• The surface area of green spaces and green roofs has increased by more than 10% on the Cluse-Roseraie site since 2021

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Reduce the impact of professional travels

• In 2024, commissioning of six electric trucks (four of 7.5 tonnes and two of 16 tonnes) for internal logistics and charging stations. The first four trucks and the charging stations received financial support from the HUG private foundation
• 250 annual VéloPartage (bike-sharing) subscriptions offered to staff in 2024