Will the Netherlands be the first country to achieve a Planetary Healthcare system?

The Dutch Green Health Alliance is a grassroots nonprofit organization uniting over 40,000 healthcare professionals to help accelerate the transition to sustainable healthcare and a healthy planet. Recognizing the paradox of healthcare’s environmental impact, the Alliance focuses on making the health sector more environmentally sustainable through knowledge sharing, advocacy, and empowerment. By advocating for Planetary Health to be mainstreamed in policies and healthcare practice, they support professionals at all levels, from students to specialists, in integrating sustainability into workflows and organizations.

Key initiatives include an online platform with toolkits and inspiring bottom-up examples to make healthcare sustainable, an overview of the more than 230 affiliated Green Teams, a handbook on sustainable healthcare, podcasts, masterclasses, and the annual Groene Zorg (Green Healthcare) Festival. They actively promote Planetary Health education, collaborating with educators and institutions to embed sustainability in healthcare curricula nationwide. Their advocacy successes include inclusion of Planetary Health in the nationwide Dutch Green Deal Sustainable Healthcare and in medical training standards. The Alliance measures progress through qualitative indicators, aiming to make Planetary Health intrinsic to healthcare by 2050.