Vitalis and Brainport Bereikbaar join forces for sustainable mobility in healthcare

In the Eindhoven region, healthcare organizations are joining forces to accelerate sustainability in the healthcare sector by signing the Green Deal. Vitalis plays an active role in this. Susanne Herberichs, sustainability advisor at Vitalis, talks about two trajectories that complement each other nicely: the mobility scan of Brainport Bereikbaar and the SDG challenge in which students think about future-proof mobility in healthcare.

From insight to action

'The mobility scan makes it clear where opportunities lie for more sustainable travel', says Susanne. 'The biggest gain is that we now have insight into where we stand, which allows us to take targeted actions. An interesting insight from the scan is, for example, that many employees live close to their work, often in and around Eindhoven. This makes the bicycle a logical and healthy alternative to the car.'

Initially, Vitalis focused mainly on solving the consequences for employees, for example when introducing paid parking. 'We mainly looked at compensation,' says Susanne. 'The mobility scan helps us to look at things more broadly: how do we ensure that fewer people come by car? That conversation is really getting going now and I think that's great to see.'

Two paths that reinforce each other

In addition to the collaboration on the mobility scan, the two organizations are also joining forces in another area. Vitalis, together with Archipel, another healthcare organization in Eindhoven, is the driving force behind the SDG challenge. In this challenge, students will work on a current issue, linked to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) of the United Nations. The healthcare organizations jointly chose an issue around the theme of mobility. 'Since we at Vitalis already collaborate with Brainport Bereikbaar for the mobility scan, we asked them to also tackle this challenge together. In this way, we strengthen each other,' Susanne explains.

The students consider what the mobility of healthcare workers in and around Eindhoven could look like in 2025-2030, with attention to themes such as zero-emission zones, parking pressure, traffic jams and CO₂ reduction.

Working together on solutions

'We are very curious about the solutions or ideas that the students come up with and whether it helps us to think differently,' says Susanne. Vitalis, Archipel and Brainport Bereikbaar support the students with additional knowledge. For example, the healthcare organisations share experiences and challenges from practice, while Brainport Bereikbaar offers insight into solutions that already exist and the plans that exist in the region. 'The students can reflect their ideas on this. We want to avoid stating the obvious, but also not to restrict things too much. There must be enough room to come up with innovative solutions. It would be great if they come up with something that we haven't thought of yet,' says Susanne.

'The mobility scan and the SDG challenge were developed separately, but I think they can complement each other very nicely,' says Susanne. 'The insights from the scan can be valuable input for the students. Hopefully, a nice conclusion will come out of it later.'