Institut Català de la Salut (ICS)

Institut Català de la Salut (ICS) is the largest public health services company in Catalonia, with more than 55,000 professionals providing services to almost six million people throughout Catalonia. The ICS manages 3 large high-tech tertiary hospitals, 4 regional reference hospitals, 1 county hospital and 290 primary care teams working in almost a thousand healthcare centres and rural medical offices.
As a reference entity in the country's public healthcare system, the ICS aims to improve people's health and quality of life, through the promotion of healthy habits, the prevention of health problems and the treatment of diseases, from the most banal to those that require a more complex approach.
All activities have an associated environmental impact and healthcare is no exception, so in this aim to be a leader in the protection of health, the environment and sustainability, the ICS is committed in its environmental policy (https://ics.gencat.cat/web/.content/gestio-ambiental/politica-ambiental/politica-ambiental-2024.pdf) to integrate environmental prevention into its activities’ life cycle; to reduce waste production and improve waste separation; to promote green public procurement and encourage environmental and circular economy innovation, implementing energy efficiency measures, promoting stakeholder participation, and implementing environmental management systems, among others.

Supporting the following commitments:

• Commitment 1: Conduct climate change and health vulnerability and adaptation assessments (V&As) at population level and/or health care facility level.
• Commitment 3: Use the V&A and HNAP to facilitate access to climate change funding for health.
• Commitment 4: Set a target date by which to achieve health systems net zero emissions (ideally by 2050).
• Commitment 6: Develop an action plan or roadmap by a set date to develop a sustainable low carbon health system (including supply chains).

Country experience:

Spain: Commitments 1, 3, 4 and 6