Climate Change and Environmental Sustainability
Climate-related events such as heatwaves, floods, bushfires, and cyclones are increasingly influencing the RFDS’s core mission and operations. The RFDS has witnessed first-hand the impacts of climate change on our patients, communities, staff, volunteers, and partners across Australia. We recognise that the ongoing warming of our planet presents an evolving public health risk. The RFDS is committed to becoming an environmentally sustainable and climate-resilient organisation. We are taking action not only to address the challenges posed by climate change, but also to embrace opportunities for innovation that support the continued delivery of high-quality healthcare to regional and remote communities.
In healthcare, our guiding principle is to do no harm. We acknowledge that our operations have an environmental footprint, and that this footprint can contribute to negative health outcomes. While there are challenges for RFDS to eliminate carbon emissions due to the nature of our services, we are exploring and progressing emissions reduction including investigating our service delivery methods, procurement, and energy use. We understand that transitioning toward a net zero, climate-resilient future will require the same innovative spirit that defines our organisation. A healthier planet means healthier communities – and we are committed to contributing to both.
Over the coming years, the RFDS Sections and Operations across Australia will strive to support initiatives such as delivering healthcare to communities most impacted by climate change, contributing to disaster relief, integrating climate considerations into strategic decision-making, improving resource efficiency and environmental performance, measuring our environmental impact, and advancing opportunities to collaborate with and learn from our patients, communities, and stakeholders regarding the intersection of climate and health.
We believe that these activities will play an important part in enabling us to deliver more sustainable, safe, effective healthcare for current and future generations.
