ESTRO Green Task Force
Combatting climate change and securing environmental sustainability are major challenges of our time. Responsible for 5% of global greenhouse gas emissions, the health-care sector has a vital role to play in climate change mitigation efforts [1, 2].
Furthermore, the consequences of fossil fuel burning and climate change involve health risks, including increased cancer incidence as well as disturbances in cancer care delivery. Thus, ESTRO will support efforts aiming to reduce carbon footprint and improve the environmental sustainability of radiotherapy, and ESTRO will balance the goal to facilitate research and development with the environmental impact of ESTROs activities.
Aims of the ESTRO Green Task Force:
- Reduce the carbon footprint and improve environmental sustainability of ESTRO activities
- Raise awareness and knowledge among ESTRO members and develop new strategies about sustainability in radiation oncology:
- Motivate ESTRO members to take sustainable and responsible decisions in their personal and professional lives
- Raise awareness about the impact of climate changes and pollution on cancer incidence and cancer care
- Support development of strategies which can impact on the carbon emission and environment sustainability of radiotherapy
Activities and responsibilities:
- Provide recommendations to the ESTRO Board on approaches and interventions to reduce carbon footprint and improve environmental sustainability of ESTRO activities
- Assess the environmental impact of ESTRO activities and evaluate the potential effect of different interventions to lower carbon emissions of ESTRO activities
- Promote environmentally sustainable meetings and events set up
- Promote a network to exchange and discuss best practices in radiation oncology delivery and carbon footprint reduction
1. Pichler, P.-P., et al., International comparison of health care carbon footprints. Environmental Research Letters, 2019. 14.
2. Watts, N., et al., The 2019 report of The <em>Lancet</em> Countdown on health and climate change: ensuring that the health of a child born today is not defined by a changing climate. The Lancet, 2019. 394(10211): p. 1836-1878.