MHH nominated for German Sustainability Prize: Two projects in focus!

MHH nominated for German Sustainability Prize: Two projects in focus!

The Hannover Medical School (MHH) is nominated for the German Sustainability Prize (DNP) in two categories. These nominations were made in the areas of “shaping care” and “protecting the environment”. The jury emphasizes that the MHH is one of the pioneers of transformation in the healthcare system. Specifically, two important university projects entered the race: the “pediatric intensive care network PIN” and the concept “With foresight on the plate – realizing co-benefits for health and climate in a university hospital”.

The first project, the pediatric intensive care network PIN, aims to improve the care of seriously ill children and adolescents. A network of specialized intensive care centers is being formed in northern Germany. This networking enables expertise, resources and capacities to be pooled to guarantee optimal treatment close to home. In total, the network includes 53 children's clinics from Lower Saxony, Bremen, Saxony-Anhalt, North Rhine-Westphalia, Hesse and other federal states. The initiative's medical center is the Department of Pediatric Cardiology and Intensive Care Medicine at the MHH, which has already treated over 6,000 children and adolescents.

Sustainable catering in the hospital

The second project, “With foresight on your plate,” aims to create healthy and sustainable catering for patients and employees. The measures include the creation of seven permanent positions and the integration of dieticians in the clinical departments. In addition, concrete steps have been implemented in the MHH central kitchen since 2023, which include, among other things, increasing the proportion of plant-based, regional and seasonal products and reducing food waste. The concept is intended not only to improve the health of patients and employees, but also to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to contribute to ecological sustainability.

The DNP Health honors initiatives that provide sustainable answers to the challenges of public services. The award ceremony is planned for December 2025 in Düsseldorf. While the MHH was able to achieve optimistic nominations with its projects in the field of healthcare, the example of the “Green Hospital Food” project at the Essen University Hospital shows that such initiatives are not unique. This project also focuses on the sustainable transformation of hospital catering. A menu based on the Planetary Health Diet is established, which contains few animal products and is intended to reduce food waste by at least 30%.

Overall, it is clear that efforts towards sustainability in healthcare play an important role. In addition to the MHH, other institutions such as the Essen University Hospital are also making significant contributions to providing both tasty and nutritious meals without putting undue strain on planetary resources.