Background

Sustainability is becoming increasingly important for the healthcare sector - not least because climate change affects both the health of the population and the environmental footprint of hospitals. They are faced with the challenge of combining ecological, social and economic goals with medical and financial requirements. Sustainability reporting is becoming increasingly important as it creates transparency about strategies and measures. With the introduction of the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD), hospitals will also be more strongly obliged to disclose their sustainability activities in future.

Objective

The research project examines how hospitals strategically anchor sustainability and report on it. The focus is on the factors that promote or hinder sustainable action, as well as the organizational structures and decision-making processes that enable implementation. The aim is to gain evidence-based insights for a sustainable transformation of the healthcare system and to derive practical recommendations for policy-makers and hospital management.

Sub-project 1 - Sustainability reporting in the hospital sector

The sub-project investigates which factors motivate hospitals to publish sustainability reports, which barriers exist and which organizational characteristics influence reporting. The aim is to create an empirical basis for developing strategies for greater transparency and sustainable action in the hospital sector.

Sub-project 2 - Sustainability as an organizational challenge and opportunity

This sub-project investigates why and how hospitals react to social demands for sustainability. The focus is on conflicting goals between medical, financial and ecological requirements, stakeholder management and organizational structures and decision-making processes that enable or hinder sustainable development.

Research design and procedure

Sub-project 1 follows a three-stage approach (quantitative and qualitative methods):

1. Inventory: analysis of sustainability reports, website content and project participation of German hospitals to capture current sustainability practices.

2. Motivations and barriers: Surveys and interviews with hospital representatives to identify driving factors, barriers and internal priorities.

3. Quantitative analysis: Investigation of the determinants and possible effects of sustainability reporting, for example in relation to patient satisfaction or financial performance.

In sub-project 2, semi-structured interviews are conducted with hospital management and sustainability officers. In addition, sustainability and financial reports will be evaluated in order to analyze external communication, implementation practice and financial framework conditions. The focus is on ownership structures (public, private, non-profit) and their influence on the motivation and implementation of sustainability measures.