A new CEN Workshop is being planned as part of the activities of the EU project 'Caring Nature'. This project focuses its energies on reducing the carbon footprint of the healthcare sector. This is no small task, and many innovative solutions are needed that consider the safety and health of both patients and operators.
In the area of healthcare buildings, there is a current lack of standardized principles and guidelines for circularity and green practices. At the same time there is growing demand for healthcare infrastructure that is environmentally sustainable. To meet this challenge, a CEN Workshop has been proposed. The Workshop is tasked with helping to develop a Green Circular Compass – a tool which will take into account several areas, including circularity, energy, and well-being. This is particularly important for healthcare infrastructure buildings as these have the highest mean embodied carbon content per m² of all building typologies.
The resulting CWA is expected to be of great benefit to professionals in healthcare planning, sustainable design, architecture, and the construction sector in general. By examining the interrelatedness of the three areas mentioned above, a wholistic reference document will be created that supports well-informed decision-making. This work will also be complementary to Technical Committees in the healthcare and sustainable construction sectors, and will help with the overarching goal of creating buildings that are more sustainable, resource efficient and conducive to patient well-being.
The kick-off meeting for the Workshop will be an online meeting on 3rd June 2026 from 10.00 am to 1.00 pm (CEST). For registration to the kick-off meeting, please use this Forms link.
All interested parties are invited to submit comments on the draft Project Plan using the commenting form below, to the Workshop Secretary, Merten Schmidt (merten.schmidt@din.de), by 28th May, 2026.
Download the documents:
