On Monday, May 19th, Jasper Klasen, PhD student in WP5 for the ESCH-R project, had the honour of presenting the ESCH-R initiative to a delegation of top-level managers and cardiologists from healthcare institutions from Poland. This insightful meeting was organized by the Ministry of Health, Welfare and Sport (VWS).

The session provided a platform to delve into the Green Deal and showcase the initial research outcomes from ESCH-R. Jasper shared key findings, including his first  published paper as an ESCH-R PhD and the ongoing waste audit conducted with waste coming from the department of interventional cardiology of the Erasmus MC. Part of the presentation was also dedicated to an engaging discussion on the differences and similarities between the Polish and Dutch contexts regarding sustainability in healthcare.

The event was also attended by Dutch ministry policy experts specializing in healthcare sustainability and a representative from the Dutch association of cardiologists. It was highlighted that Poland is in the early stages of integrating sustainability into its healthcare system and does not yet have a Green Deal, making this exchange particularly aimed at inspiring future initiatives.

The Polish delegation expressed considerable admiration for the ESCH-R project, particularly noting the extensive collaboration with a wide array of industry and knowledge partners. They were impressed by the diverse expertise involved, spanning design, medical, economics, and behavioural sciences, and lauded the project’s effective multi-perspective approach to tackling healthcare sustainability.