The green operating room: guidance for implementing environmental sustainability

Abstract

This thesis explores how the operating room (OR) can become more environmentally sustainable and how the transition towards a “Green OR” can be achieved. Its central aim is to identify key factors influencing the environmental impact of surgical care and to provide practical guidance for reducing this impact. The research addresses multiple dimensions, including clinical decision-making, healthcare professionals’ attitudes and behaviours, the development of evidence-based sustainable guidelines, and practical innovations within the OR.

It highlights the importance of interdisciplinary collaboration in driving meaningful change, while also emphasising the need for top-down support and leadership to enable bottom-up initiatives from healthcare professionals.

The findings offer concrete tools and insights for implementation but also emphasise that the next step lies in system-wide adoption across specialties and care processes. Embedding sustainability into healthcare requires coordinated action at all organisational levels. By aligning policy, practice, and professional behaviour, this thesis contributes to achieving a more sustainable and future-proof surgical system and helps to realise the Green OR in practice.