Evolution and progression of education for sustainable development programmes in Ireland: from the kindergarten to the operating theatre

n/aGlobal Cleaner Production & Sustainable Consumption Conference http://www.cleanerproductionconference.com/Transformation of education for sustainable development (ESD) programmes to meaningful action within society presents significant challenges including systemic integration, consistency of methods, and ensuring relevance and quality. Programmes like Eco-Schools, intended initially as an international environmental educational initiative, have developed, through thematic implementation processes and extensive collaboration with governmental agencies and NGOs, to embrace both development education and ESD. The Eco-Schools Programme, developed from the Blue Flag Programme for beaches and marinas, is coordinated at an international level by the Foundation for Environmental Education. The Programme has operated in Ireland since 1997 with over 93% of all primary and second level schools currently participating. Students from Eco-Schools progressing further through the education system demanded ESD action on reaching university, which lead to the development of the Green- Campus Programme. All Irish Universities and more than half of Institutes of Technology are registered on the programme with many awarded Green-Campus status, meaning that these sites engaged with the Eco-Schools programme, committed to continual improvement and elected for verification through detailed assessment processes. The Green-Campus Programme has been successfully implemented in Cork University Hospital, Ireland’s largest teaching hospital. Likewise, early years educators used relevant aspects of the Green-Schools Programme in the kindergarten. Evolution and progression of the Eco-Schools Programme in Ireland was largely an organic process, however, evaluation of this case study reveals a flexible, dynamic framework which international policy makers and NGOs can imitate in order to champion enduring ESD programmes that are responsive as well as responsible

Best practices of eco-schools international programme implementation for teritary level in Ireland and Russia

n/aEco-Schools international programme is one of five programmes of FEE (Foundation for Environmental Education). In each participating country it is run by a FEE-member NGO, In Ireland in is run by An Taisce and in Russia by Keep St. Petersburg Tidy NGO. Initially the programme was designed for schools. Since 2003 kindergartens and supplementary education centers joined the programme in Russia and in some other countries. In 2007-2008 the tertiary level institutions got interested in the programme in Ireland, Russia, Portugal, Iceland and Spain. This paper addresses to the best practices from two of five countries running Eco- Schools for the tertiary level. It is important to note that in all five countries the initiative to join Eco-Schools programme came from students

Reliance on pumped mother’s milk has an environmental impact

peer-reviewedBreastfeeding is an environmentally friendly process; however when feeding relies on pumped mother’s milk, the environmental picture changes. Waste plastics and heavy metals raise concerns regarding resource efficiency, waste treatment, and detrimental effects on health. Reliance on pumped milk rather than breastfeeding may also effect obesity and family size, which in turn have further environmental impacts. Information on pump equipment rarely includes environmental information and may focus on marketing the product for maximum profit. In order for parents, health workers, and health policy makers to make informed decisions about the reliance on pumped mother’s milk, they need information on the broad and far reaching environmental aspects. There was no published research found that examined the environmental impact of using pumped mother’s milk. A project is ongoing to examine this issue

Backcasting to identify food waste prevention and mitigation opportunities for infant feeding in the maternity services

peer-reviewedFood waste in hospitals is of major concern for two reasons: first, healthcare needs to move toward preventative and demand led models for sustainability and second, food system sustainability needs to seek preventative measures such as diet adaptation and waste prevention. The impact of breast-milk substitute use on health services is well established in literature in terms of healthcare implications, cost and resourcing, however as a food demand and waste management issue little has been published to date. This paper presents the use of a desk based backcasting method to analyse food waste prevention, mitigation and management options within the Irish Maternity Service. Best practice in healthcare provision and waste management regulations are used to frame solutions. Strategic problem orientation revealed that 61% of the volume of ready to use breast-milk substitutes purchased by maternity services remains unconsumed and ends up as waste. Thirteen viable strategies to prevent and manage this waste were identified. Significant opportunities exist to prevent waste and also decrease food demand leading to both positive health and environmental outcomes. Backcasting methods display great promise in delivering food waste management strategies in healthcare settings, especially where evidenced best practice policies exist to inform solution forming processes. In terms of food waste prevention and management, difficulties arise in distinguishing between demand reduction, waste prevention and waste reduction measures under the current Waste Management Hierarchy definitions. Ultimately demand reduction at source requires prioritisation, a strategy which is complimentary to health policy on infant feeding

Embedding education for sustainable development in healthcare: opportunities for long range environmental impact mitigation from the maternity service to the home

Paper presented at Global Cleaner Production & Sustainable Consumption Conference, http://www.cleanerproductionconference.com/Significant environmental degradation and pollution effects can be attributed to healthcare. Improving the environmental performance of both hospital facilities and wider healthcare services requires healthcare professionals to respond to both challenging and changing environments. It is increasingly evident that regulation is unlikely to succeed in greening healthcare, due, in part, to differences across nations and speed at which new products and processes are developed. Within maternity services, infant feeding actions contribute to resource inefficiency, liquid, solid and electronic wastes such as single use bottles, composite material teats and collars, and breast-pumps. Given that the importance of breastfeeding is well established it should not be assumed that breastfeeding does not incur environmental impacts, as the use of breast-pumps and sterilising equipment has increased over time. The birth of a child, a significant life event, provides opportunities to influence long term behaviour and choices with respect to wider environmental considerations when raising children. Correlations between information provided by healthcare professionals and infant feeding actions among parents reveals the potential extension of this key relationship to drive change. The visibility of environmental initiatives and best practice within maternity services may serve as living laboratories for families to witness and adopt environmentally beneficial measures. Environmental education resources, for new parents and healthcare staff, have potential to deliver both wide and far reaching impacts. This paper identifies opportunities for environmental education within maternity services, assesses delivery modes using case studies, and evaluates potential impacts for both health and environmental sustainability

Greening healthcare: systematic implementation of environmental programmes in a university teaching hospital

peer-reviewedThe provision of healthcare creates significant environmental impacts, and their mitigation is being attempted in a variety of ways which vary from nation to nation in line with differing policy priorities and resource availability. The environmental performance of hospitals has been enhanced through, for example, green building, waste and energy management, and product design. However, unpredictable occupant behaviour, new research outcomes and evolving best practice requires healthcare to react and respond in an ever challenging and changing environment, and clearly there is no one set of actions appropriate in all jurisdictions. Many authors have pointed up negative environmental impacts caused by healthcare, but these studies have focused on particular aspects of mitigation in isolation, and are for this reason not optimal. Here it is argued that tackling impact mitigation through a whole system approach is likely to be more effective. To illustrate what this approach might entail in practice, an evaluation of a systematic implementation of impact mitigation in Ireland's largest teaching hospital, Cork University Hospital is presented. This approach brings together voluntary initiatives in particular those emanating from governmental and non-governmental organisations, peer supports and the adaptation of programmes designed originally for environmental education purposes. Specific measures and initiatives are described, and analysis of results and planned future actions provides a basis for evaluation of successes achieved in achieving mitigation objectives. A crucial attribute of this approach is that it retains its flexibility and connectivity through time, thereby ensuring continual responsiveness to evolving regulation and best practice in green healthcare. It is demonstrated that implementation in Cork resulted both in mitigation of existing impacts, but also a commitment to continual improvement. For such a systems approach to be widely adopted, the healthcare sector needs both leadership from regulators and stakeholders, and strong supports. In Cork it was found that environmental education programmes, especially action and reward based programmes, as utilised by the campus's academic affiliates in particular University College Cork, were especially effective as a framework to address sustainability challenges and should be developed further. However, within healthcare implementation of environmental initiatives must prioritise patient safety. This approach has now been adopted for delivery across the health services sector in Ireland. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.ACCEPTEDpeer-reviewe

Evaluation of an environmental mangement network solution for small to medium sized enterprises within the Mid-West region of Ireland

Small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs) are a crucial component of the European economy. In light of the current (2008-2009) economic situation, their importance in terms of employment and revenue generation may place them at the forefront of economic restructuring. A definitive assessment of their total contribution to environmental degradation has proved elusive, however, it is estimated that their cumulative impacts are significant. Networks and clusters have been identified as important structures for SME growth, development, and dissemination of supports. Recently, it has been proposed to introduce industrial ecology through networks as a means to enhance the environmental performance of SMEs. This research is based on a pilot project to establish an eco-industrial network among SMEs in the Mid-West Region of Ireland, in which 18 companies were studied. As part of the pilot project each company received an environmental review, a report detailing environmental improvement measures, and a calculation of their ecological footprint. Based on the companies’ environmental issues, uncovered as part of the environmental review, collaborative opportunities for improvement were identified. A workshop was held to ascertain the viability and potential uptake of the opportunities identified. On completion of the pilot project the findings of the environmental reviews, ecological footprint calculations, collaborative opportunities identification, and feedback from the participating companies were analysed. It was found that attributes of the companies’ such as their sector, location, knowledge of legal issues, size, structure, and management of external relationships affected their environmental performance and uptake of improvement measures. Policy approaches required were critiqued based on the examination of the impacts of these attributes. The findings also suggest that the strict use of the SME definition is not useful in predicting the likely environmental impacts of companies and approaches that focus on existing companies, networks and clusters are more likely to advance the implementation of industrial ecology

Reliance on pumped mother’s milk has an environmental impact

Breastfeeding is an environmentally friendly process; however when feeding relies on pumped mother\u27s milk, the environmental picture changes. Waste plastics and heavy metals raise concerns regarding resource efficiency, waste treatment, and detrimental effects on health. Reliance on pumped milk rather than breastfeeding may also effect obesity and family size, which in turn have further environmental impacts. Information on pump equipment rarely includes environmental information and may focus on marketing the product for maximum profit. In order for parents, health workers, and health policy makers to make informed decisions about the reliance on pumped mother\u27s milk, they need information on the broad and far reaching environmental aspects. There was no published research found that examined the environmental impact of using pumped mother\u27s milk. A project is ongoing to examine this issue

Backcasting to identify food waste prevention and mitigation opportunities for infant feeding in the maternity services

Food waste in hospitals is of major concern for two reasons: first, healthcare needs to move toward preventative and demand led models for sustainability and second, food system sustainability needs to seek preventative measures such as diet adaptation and waste prevention. The impact of breast-milk substitute use on health services is well established in literature in terms of healthcare implications, cost and resourcing, however as a food demand and waste management issue little has been published to date. This paper presents the use of a desk based backcasting method to analyse food waste prevention, mitigation and management options within the Irish Maternity Service. Best practice in healthcare provision and waste management regulations are used to frame solutions. Strategic problem orientation revealed that 61% of the volume of ready to use breast-milk substitutes purchased by maternity services remains unconsumed and ends up as waste. Thirteen viable strategies to prevent and manage this waste were identified. Significant opportunities exist to prevent waste and also decrease food demand leading to both positive health and environmental outcomes. Backcasting methods display great promise in delivering food waste management strategies in healthcare settings, especially where evidenced best practice policies exist to inform solution forming processes. In terms of food waste prevention and management, difficulties arise in distinguishing between demand reduction, waste prevention and waste reduction measures under the current Waste Management Hierarchy definitions. Ultimately demand reduction at source requires prioritisation, a strategy which is complimentary to health policy on infant feeding