Environmental Sustainability in ICUs: A Report From the Society of Critical Care Medicine Sustainability Task Force

OBJECTIVES:The charge of the newly formed Society of Critical Care Medicine Sustainability Task Force is to describe actionable items supporting environmental stewardship for ICUs, to discuss barriers associated with sustainability initiatives and outline opportunities for future impact.DATA SOURCES:Ovid Medline, EBSCOhost CINAHL, Elsevier Embase, and Scopus databases were searched through to March 2024 for studies reporting on environmental sustainability and critical care.STUDY SELECTION:Systematic reviews, narrative reviews, quality improvement projects, randomized clinical trials, and observational studies were prioritized for review. Bibliographies from retrieved articles were scanned for articles that may have been missed.DATA EXTRACTION:Data regarding environmental sustainability initiatives that aimed to quantify, manage, or mitigate pollution and/or carbon emissions with a focus on ICUs, barriers to change, and opportunities for development were qualitatively assessed.DATA SYNTHESIS:ICUs are resource-intensive and as such, methods to attenuate carbon emissions and waste can play a substantial role in mitigating the sizable burden of healthcare-related pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. Several initiatives and strategies exist for clinicians and providers to engage in environmental stewardship, with specific attention to avoiding low-value care while maintaining or improving patient safety and high-quality care. Increased focus on sustainability can be met with resistance to change, including institutional, financial, and behavioral barriers. Collaboration and innovative thinking create valuable opportunities for clinicians, patients, families, and policymakers to advocate for patient and planetary health.CONCLUSIONS:Within the healthcare system, ICUs are well positioned to lead sustainability action, policy, and practice. Critical care teams have the capability and the moral responsibility to mitigate the negative impact of critical care medicine upon our environment and become change agents promoting sustainable healthcare for the benefit of human health.