Sustainable Healthcare: Smart Waste Management in Action
Discover how healthcare professionals can reduce waste, cut costs, and lead sustainable change in medical environments.
Duration
4 weeksWeekly study
3 hours
Sustainable Healthcare: Smart Waste Management in Action
This course has been certified by the CPD Certification Service as conforming to continuing professional development principles. Find out more.
Lead sustainable change through smarter healthcare waste practices
The healthcare sector generates significant waste, contributing to pollution, rising costs, and environmental harm. But it also holds the power to transform.
This four-week course empowers healthcare professionals to drive sustainability through smart waste management strategies that improve patient care and operational efficiency.
Understand how waste impacts care, safety, and the environment
You’ll begin by exploring the scale and scope of healthcare waste, from routine disposables to hazardous materials.
Discover the risks of improper waste management and learn how sustainable practices can mitigate harm, reduce emissions, and improve care quality.
Gain practical skills for sorting, storing, and reducing waste
Get hands-on with waste management strategies. Sorting waste at the source, handling hazardous materials and using colour-coded systems.
You’ll explore how to reduce, reuse, and rethink waste as part of a circular approach to healthcare sustainability.
Build a culture of sustainability in your hospital or clinic
Creating a green workplace isn’t just about bins and protocol; it’s about people.
You’ll examine the drivers of change, including leadership, compliance, staff engagement, and feedback. With real-world case studies, you’ll see how small actions lead to systemic impact.
Syllabus
Week 1
Introduction to Waste in Healthcare
Welcome to the course
This course empowers healthcare professionals to drive sustainability by focusing on one of the most actionable areas: healthcare waste.
Why Waste Management Matters in Healthcare?
The environmental and health impacts of healthcare waste are several and profound, and therefore waste management is one of the pillars for sustainable healthcare.
Importance of Waste Management within Healthcare
By the end of this activity, learners will know the importance and impact of proper waste management of healthcare sector. And will have a basic notion of the activities related to waste management.
Week 2
Building a Green Waste Culture
Sorting waste
By the end of this activity, learners will know the importance of having an effective sorting management system for waste.
Green Waste Culture
By the end of this activity, learners will know about the concept of Green Waste Culture, as well as its main drivers.
Week 3
Understanding the waste streams
Understanding the waste streams
By the end of this activity, learners will know the importance of having an effective sorting management system for waste.
Reducing, Reusing, and Rethinking Waste
By the end of the activity, learners will know the importance of having an effective sorting management system for waste.
Week 4
Circular Thinking in practice
Circular healthcare
By the end of this activity you will learn about design for reuse, system loops and lifecycle thinking and create a structured plan for waste improvements in your setting.
Final Examination
This final test is designed to consolidate your knowledge and ensure a clear understanding of the course material. Successful completion is required for certificate eligibility. Good luck!
Who is this accredited by?
The CPD Certification Service was established in 1996 and is the leading independent CPD accreditation institution operating across industry sectors to complement the CPD policies of professional and academic bodies.
Learning on this course
On every step of the course you can meet other learners, share your ideas and join in with active discussions in the comments.
What will you achieve?
By the end of the course, you‘ll be able to...
- Develop a better understanding of the importance and impact of waste generation within the healthcare sector.
- Identify environmental and health risks associated with different types of healthcare waste.
- Apply practical skills in sorting, storing and disposing of waste in compliance with local regulations.
- Explore case studies showcasing sustainable strategies in different themes within the hospitals.
- Discover how to create behavior change and build a culture of sustainability across teams.
Who is the course for?
This course is ideal for nurses, doctors, clinical leaders, and hospital staff aiming to reduce waste and embed sustainability in daily medical practice. Suitable for professionals across healthcare settings.
Who will you learn with?
More than 12 years of practical experience working at global level with sustainability and sustainable development. Broad expertise on planing and implementing cross-sectoral partnerships.
Who developed the course?
Skåne Care
As the international gateway to Sweden’s public healthcare system, Skåne Care connects global partners with top-quality healthcare solutions and opportunities for professional growth. Skåne Care is part of the Swedish public healthcare system and is governed by the Regional Council of Skåne in southern Sweden.
Nordic Center for Sustainable Healthcare
The Nordic Center for Sustainable Healthcare is a pioneering network committed to driving sustainability within the global healthcare sector.
What's included?
This is a premium course. These courses are designed for professionals from specific industries looking to learn with a smaller group of like-minded individuals.
- Learn best practices from experts
- Learn from the experience of other health professionals
- Fit learning around your schedule with unlimited access
- Get evidence of learning outcomes and CPD hours
- Certificate of Achievement to prove your success when you're eligible
- Download and print your Certificate of Achievement anytime
Still want to know more? Check out our FAQs
Learning on FutureLearn
Your learning, your rules
- Courses are split into weeks, activities, and steps to help you keep track of your learning
- Learn through a mix of bite-sized videos, long- and short-form articles, audio, and practical activities
- Stay motivated by using the Progress page to keep track of your step completion and assessment scores
Join a global classroom
- Experience the power of social learning, and get inspired by an international network of learners
- Share ideas with your peers and course educators on every step of the course
- Join the conversation by reading, @ing, liking, bookmarking, and replying to comments from others
Map your progress
- As you work through the course, use notifications and the Progress page to guide your learning
- Whenever you’re ready, mark each step as complete, you’re in control
- Complete 90% of course steps and all of the assessments to earn your certificate
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