On September 25, 2025, the 3rd meeting of the Local Stakeholder Group was held as part of the DAPHNE project: Decarbonising healthcare in EU regions, combined with a bilateral exchange of Good Practices with the Greek Region of Thessaly. The online meeting brought together, among others, representatives of our Association, the Elk City Office, the “Pro-Medica” City Hospital, the 1st Military Clinical Hospital with The Polyclinic of the SPZOZ in Lublin – Branch in Elk, the Municipal Transport Company, and the Thermal Energy Company.
The meeting was dedicated to the exchange of knowledge and experience related to the decarbonisation of hospitals in Europe. Participants learned about long-term energy efficiency improvement measures implemented at UZ Leuven Hospital in Belgium and St. Brigid’s Hospital in Ardee, Ireland. Afterwards, Sotiris Serdenis from the Region of Thessaly presented successful solutions applied at the General Hospital of Larissa, Greece, including the installation of antibacterial wall panels in operating rooms and the use of eco-friendly detergents. These measures have inspired other Greek healthcare facilities, as they have significantly reduced CO2 emissions and water consumption while improving patient safety – all with relatively low investment costs.
During the meeting, participants also learned about examples of mitigation and adaptation measures implemented in Polish healthcare facilities, including the Ludwik Rydygier Regional Hospital in Toruń and the University Clinical Hospital No. 1 in Szczecin. Plans for the development of the “Pro-Medica” City Hospital in Elk were also presented, including the construction of a new facility dedicated to long-term care. The discussion further addressed the possibility of introducing an energy monitoring and data collection system in Elk’s hospitals, which could support future efforts to improve energy efficiency and reduce energy consumption. Attention was also drawn to financial barriers faced both in Poland and Greece – the high costs of modernising energy monitoring systems and the need to obtain external sources of funding.
In the conclusions of the meeting, participants emphasised the need to monitor energy consumption and invest in sustainable hospital infrastructure, as well as the importance and value of collaboration and the exchange of experiences between healthcare facilities.
The project is co-funded by the EU Interreg Europe program. The sole responsibility for the content of this website lies with the DAPHNE project and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the European Union.
