The webinar saw strong turnout from the medical community, with 146 participants in attendance.

The webinar featured presentations by a prominent roster of speakers, including Professor Steve Robson, AMA President; Professor Nicholas Talley, DEA President; Hon Ged Kearney, Assistant Minister for Health and Aged Care and Professor Carolyn Hullick, Clinical Director, Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care.

A number of medical colleges including RACS also presented, sharing their initiatives on climate change mitigation and promotion of sustainability outcomes. Dr Ben Dunne, Chair of the Environmental Sustainability in Surgical Practice Working Party, presented on RACS’ current work. These include the embedding of sustainability outcomes in the RACS Strategic Plan 2022-24; incorporating sustainability into the curriculum and professional development; supporting and enhancing sustainability research and audits of operational sustainability within the College.

It was encouraging to hear about the excellent sustainability work being conducted by the various Australian medical colleges. RACS looks forward to continuing to work with policymakers, medical colleges, educators and researchers to advance the implementation of sustainability practices in the Australian healthcare sector.