CFMS GREEN CHARTER
May 2009
A broad environmental movement that increasingly recognizes and understands the interdependence of humanity and the natural environment is afoot, here in Canada and abroad. Individuals, organizations, corporations and governments are examining and modifying their practices in order to become more sustainable, economical, and environmentally responsible.
The Canadian Federation of Medical Students (CFMS) recognizes that all individuals and groups have a relationship with the natural environment they inhabit, and arising from this relationship are certain responsibilities. As future healthcare professionals we also recognize that the physical environments in which we live are an important determinant of our collective and individual well-being. Maintaining a healthy environment is a significant contribution that students can make to our patients, our communities and ourselves.
Addressing the challenges posed by the current state of our natural environment requires action on multiple levels from social policy to personal lifestyle. Organizations such as the CFMS can also contribute to a sustainable future by undertaking and supporting environmentally responsible practices.
This Charter is meant to serve as a set of guidelines that address our organizational impact on the environment. The CFMS is a growing organization in terms of membership and activities and the important work of the CFMS will not be curtailed. Instead, economical and sustainable growth is encouraged. Socially and environmentally conscious actors within the CFMS are in fact already undertaking many of the recommendations that follow.
Transportation, Accommodations and Meetings
As a national organization in a country as vast as Canada, bringing our representatives together biannually and our executive group together tri-annually expends considerable amounts of jet fuel. Representatives to external organizations also often travel great distances to their face-toface meetings. However, restricting the number of meetings or medical student representation would significantly compromise the capacity of the CFMS to serve its members. Instead, the following considerations will be applied to transportation and meeting planning:
- Delegates at general meetings and events will be encouraged to book direct flights where possible, and ground transportation where feasible. Delegates will be advised to schedule transportation early.
- Executive meetings should be held in a central locations or those that minimize the total distance travelled by attendees.
- Carpooling and shuttle services will be encouraged for transit to and from airports.
- Accommodations and meeting facilities will be booked in the same venue or within walking distance where possible.
- Hotel room occupancy will be maximized where possible for general and executive meetings.
- Delegates to meetings are strongly encouraged to bring laptops, and power sources will be provided. Meeting documents will be provided in an electronic “binder” rather than in hardcopy.
- Disposable water bottles, dishware and meeting materials will be discouraged in favour of recyclable and reusable items. Vegetarian options will be provided and where possible, locally produced, organic, and Fair Trade Certified products and refreshments will be requested.
- The CFMS possesses a teleconferencing account and will make use of it for executive, subcommittee and ad hoc committee meetings when face-to-face encounters are not requisite.
Operations
The CFMS maintains a national office in Ottawa that is staffed by our General Manager. CFMS Executives, Officers, and Representatives are distributed across the country and generally work from their own home offices with their personal resources.
- The work and means of communication undertaken by the CFMS should be via electronic or telecommunications media where possible, and hardcopy mail-outs will be minimized.
- Energy-efficient facilities and equipment will be sought out for the central office and will be used in an energy-efficient manner.
- When hardcopy must be used, Forest Stewardship Council 100% post-consumer paper will be encouraged.
- The CFMS will adopt electronic accounting methods and make use of online banking services.
Health and the Environment Curriculum
The state of the environment has a significant impact on public health. Recent changes to the natural environment caused by human activity are having a reciprocal impact and contributing to new environmental burdens of disease. Often it is the most vulnerable in society, such as those at extremes of age, those living in poverty and those with chronic illness, who are most prone to the effects of environmental contaminants.
Physicians and medical students have an important role in promoting public health as it relates to the natural environment. This starts with relevant education for all during the training period.
- The CFMS will encourage Canadian MD Program curriculum developers and the Association of Faculties of Medicine of Canada to include health and the environment curriculum as a mandatory part of undergraduate medical programs.
- Material should include instruction on the individual and population health effects of climate change, food quality, and the contamination of air, water and soil, in addition to the burden of environmental degradation on the healthcare system and the economy.
- The CFMS will also promote leadership and advocacy skills in undergraduate medical programs to better equip medical students to act at the population level on the subject of health and the environment.
Support for Local Medical Student Societies
Many CFMS member schools have initiated formal and informal programs to help address environmental challenges, from the local to the global level. Using recyclable equipment for events, municipal letter writing campaigns, and sending extra useable medical supplies to overseas hospitals in need are some examples. The CFMS as the national organization connecting each medical student society will collect information on best practices and establish means for its members to share and adopt them.
Green Charter - Best Practices for Medical Societies (PDF
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