The Sustainable Healthcare Podcast

Structured Material Selection: Building Sustainable Medical Devices with Plastics How do you make a medical device more sustainable without blowing up the business case? Lucas Pianegonda breaks down the structured way to choose plastics, and why the first win is usually deleting a requirement, not changing a material. ABOUT THE GUEST Lucas R. Pianegonda is founder and lead plastic expert at Gradic...

What if the plastic waste from a hospital's clinical areas could come back as the ID card holders every nurse and doctor wears every day? That is what SMALLrevolution is doing, and it is one of the more elegant circular economy stories I have come across in healthcare. About the guest: Arendse Ekegren Baggesen is the Founder of SMALLrevolution, a Danish design-to-manufacturing company that collect...

What happens when a doctor applies the rigour of clinical research to the carbon footprint of surgery? In this episode, Frederik speaks with Anna Roe Rasmussen, MD, MSc Health Policy — a scientific researcher at the Regional Unit for the Green Transition in Region Zealand. Anna recently defended her PhD at the University of Copenhagen and the Technical University of Denmark, where she applied life...

The first episode of our Sustainable Clinical Trials mini-series, produced in partnership with the Sustainable Healthcare Coalition (SHC), following up on the Community of Practice conference in London on 4 November 2025. Each episode brings one of the CoP speakers back to share their story in long form.   GUEST Christian Hieronimi, Founder & CEO of ONCARE (myoncare) and co-founder of Convien....

Why do hospitals with good data, proven cases and clear economics still fail to implement sustainability solutions at scale? That is the question Maria Gaden is spending three years answering. Maria returns to the podcast as Chief of Development at Center for Sustainable Hospitals in Central Denmark Region, and as a public industrial PhD student at the University of Copenhagen's Globe Institute. H...

Liz Willetts has spent 20 years at the intersection of nature and health. In this conversation, she explains why nearly 200 governments have been asking for integrated biodiversity-health indicators for over a decade, and why the scientific community still hasn't delivered them. About the guest: Liz Willetts is a science-policy expert on global governance of the health-environment nexus. She has s...

Meeting Pharma's Rising Sustainability Demands: Marwin Krull on Körber Pharma and the Alliance to Zero Marwin Krull is Sustainability Lead for the Pharma business area at Körber Pharma and Vice President of the Alliance to Zero. He explains how pharma customer requests have evolved from broad questions about EcoVadis scores and green electricity to specific demands around product carbon footprints...

Tackling Pharmaceutical Pollution: A Systems-Based Approach In this episode of the Sustainable Healthcare Podcast, host Frederik Dam van Deurs welcomes Kelly Thornber, a researcher and advocate for addressing pharmaceutical pollution. Kelly shares her journey from working in Bangladesh to identifying pharmaceutical pollution as a global issue, and discusses the systems-based approach needed to mit...

Guest: Tamara, PhD Candidate at TU Delft, Department of Sustainable Design Engineering Episode Summary In this episode of the Sustainable Healthcare Podcast, host Frederik Dam van Deurs welcomes Tamara, a researcher and entrepreneur specializing in circular economy principles for healthcare. Tamara shares her groundbreaking work on the Visual Taxonomy of Circular Healthcare Flows (CHF), a comprehe...

Join Joachim and guest Arne Kloke, Head of Service & Sustainability Management at SCHOTT Pharma and President of Alliance to Zero . They explore practical examples of using recycled materials in pharma inclduing a case with Takeda and Pfizer and the real barriers to circularity, and what the new EU Circular Economy Act could mean for the industry. You’ll hear concrete insights on device design...

Developmental prosopagnosia – also known as face blindness – affects an estimated 1–3% of the population, yet most people have never heard of it. In this special episode of the Sustainable Healthcare Podcast, Frederik steps into the role of patient and speaks with psychologist and researcher Erling Nørkær about his own recent condition discovery and what it means to live in a world where faces don...

The Power of Movement: Why Exercise is Essential for Health In this episode of the Sustainable Healthcare Podcast, host Joachim Almdal welcomes Anders Nedergaard, an expert in muscle biology and health coaching. Anders shares his insights on the importance of physical activity, the impact of modern lifestyles on health, and how exercise can be integrated into healthcare systems to promote sustaina...

Planetary boundaries, wellbeing & healthcare with Mia Heide (WELA) What does it actually mean for human health that we’ve now exceeded 7 out of 9 planetary boundaries – up from 6 out of 9 in 2023 – and how should healthcare systems respond?  In this episode, we're joined by Mia Heide, engineer and researcher at WELA – Wellbeing Economy Lab, to unpack the latest science and what it implies for...

Show Notes — Sustainable Healthcare Coalition (SHC): From Care Pathways to Greener Clinical Trials Guests: Fiona — Chair, Sustainable Healthcare Coalition (SHC) Keith Moore — Programme Coordinator, SHC Natalie — Community of Practice Moderator, SHC Host: Frederik Dam van Deurs (Green Innovation Group & Care Pathway Consulting) Episode in a nutshell We sit down with the Sustainable Healthcare C...

Data-Driven Decarbonization of Danish Hospitals — with Rasmus & Thea Summary How do Denmark’s regions actually use data to steer the green transition in hospitals—and what does it change on the ground? In this episode, Rasmus (Region Midtjylland) and Thea (Region Syddanmark) unpack why procurement dominates the footprint in Denmark, how a “climate management model” guides reductions, and what...

Prof. Dr. Koen Kas—healthcare futurist and founder of Healthskouts—joins us to explore how “Delight Thinking” and 24/7 digital twins can shift care from reactive sickcare to proactive health. We unpack real-world models like Best Buy’s at-home monitoring, and how redesigning care and going remote-by-default can also reduce emissions. Koen dives into N=1 clinical trials, federated learning, and Tim...

Circular Medication Flows in the ICU — What the Data Really Say Host: Frederik Van Deurs Guests: Jasper Klasen (Adult Intensive Care, Erasmus MC) and Nicole Hunfeld (Hospital Pharmacy, Erasmus MC) How much medication and packaging does an ICU actually use—and where does it all end up? A new study mapped the flows and uncovered practical levers to cut waste without compromising care. https://pubmed...

Understanding Clinicians' Perspectives on Sustainability: A Survey Insight Join Joachim from Green Innovation Group and Michael Maagaard from the Central Danish region as they delve into the findings of a survey on how healthcare workers perceive and act upon sustainability. They discuss the key themes of motivation, shared responsibility, practical roadblocks, and the need for better tools, visib...

Driving Sustainable Change in Healthcare: Insights from Michael Maagaard Join us in this episode of the Sustainable Healthcare Podcast with Michael Maagaard from the Center for Sustainable Hospitals in Denmark. Michael discusses his background in educational psychology and healthcare, the rapid growth of their sustainability center, and their efforts in integrating sustainability within hospital o...

Commercializing Sustainability in Healthcare: Insights from 'The Demand Revolution' In this episode of the Sustainable Healthcare Podcast, host Joachim interviews Nicolai Broby Eckert, a senior partner at Simon-Kucher and author of 'The Demand Revolution'.  They discuss the challenges and opportunities in commercializing sustainability in pharma, MedTech, and healthcare sectors. Nicolai shares key...

Join us in this episode with Dr. Reed Omary, professor of radiology and a sustainability advocate, shares his journey toward integrating environmental consciousness into healthcare. We talk about how sustainability can drive innovation and improve efficiency as well as addressing challenges in healthcare systems, with practical insights for clinicians, administrators, and policymakers. In this epi...

In this episode, Frederik explores the role of public procurement in decarbonizing the healthcare sector. He talks about the need for standardized sustainability requirements and shares insights from a survey with buyers across Europe. He also delves into the progress of the pharmaceutical industry and the importance of weighted tender scoring criteria. Tune in to learn more about the importance o...

Discover how companies are setting targets and improving reporting quality, as well as the need for tangible emission reduction. Join Frederik, Amy, and Chris in this engaging podcast as they delve into the progress and challenges of decarbonizing the healthcare sector. Explore the potential of telemedicine and the importance of considering the environmental impact of the entire patient care pathw...

Join Nick Jenkins from Manufacture 2030 and Frederick Van der from Green Innovation Group as they discuss their work in decarbonizing the healthcare industry. Learn about how Manufacture 2030 helps large manufacturing brands reduce their carbon footprint through data collection, action plans, and expert partnerships. Discover the importance of addressing scope three emissions and setting science-b...