Circular Healthcare Summit 2026

Welcome to HCWH Europe's Circular Healthcare Summit!

This year's theme – Less plastic, more health: Rethinking patient care from the start – reflects the urgency of action and the pathway to change.

The main focus is the first 1,000 days – from conception to a child's second birthday, when health trajectories are shaped for life. While healthcare's core responsibility is to protect people's health, it also impacts environmental and public health through its own operations and supply chains. 

Today, the system still relies on a linear model – take, make, use, dispose – that drives emissions, waste, and exposure to hazardous substances.

In maternity and paediatric care, this means babies are exposed – during these critical early days – to harmful materials such as PVC and chemicals like PFAS through routine clinical practice and disposable, plastic products.

The Circular Healthcare Summit will bring together clinicians, hospital leaders, and sustainability experts to scale the Born Green Generation model – and focus on how hospitals can break this pattern: redesign care at the source, remove hazardous materials, cut unnecessary plastics, and improve both safety and environmental performance at the same time.