Green Imaging
Department (ID)
Welcome to the Green ID Certificate, an initiative developed by the ESR Sustainability Subcommittee to recognise and support the commitment ofimaging departments worldwide in implementing sustainable practices.
The Green ID plays a central role in achieving the ESR’s sustainability goal of embedding sustainable radiology across departments in Europe.
While promoting sustainable practices within Europe remains the primary mission of the European Society, we warmly welcome Green ID applications from radiology colleagues around the globe.
Certification Process
The Green ID is a sustainability self-assessment certificate for Radiology Departments worldwide.
Applying for the certificate is free of charge.
The certification framework consists of nine key categories (1) Education and Training, (2) Departmental Sustainability Working Group, (3) Energy Consumption, (4) Waste Management, (5) Audit and Governance, (6) Clinical Decision Support, (7) Contrast Media and Water Usage, (8) Procurement and Consumables, and (9) Travel and Transportation
To achieve certification, demonstrate actions in the mandatory categories below marked with an asterisk (6 points), plus four additional points, ideally from other categories, to reach a minimum total of 10 points.
Mandatory Categories:
- Education and Training
- Departmental Sustainability Working Group
- Energy Consumption
Some categories may require you to submit evidence verifying your department’s actions. This is clearly indicated, including what is acceptable evidence. Where a brief explanation is requested, this should be no more than a few sentences.
Photographs from smartphones or similar devices are perfectly acceptable, but please be careful to avoid any patient identifiers or other confidential information.
The ESR are committed to recognising sustainable practice in all settings. If the size or location of your department limits your ability to score points in certain sections, please submit an explanation for our consideration.
As part of the Green ID Certification, we warmly invite feedback and ideas from participants to shape the scheme into an exercise that will make a meaningful contribution to the environmental impact of radiology worldwide.
Departments that successfully meet all mandatory criteria and reach the minimum score of 10 will be awarded a Green ID Certification. Green ID operates on a basis of 8 levels, with Level 1 awarded for scores of 10-19, Level 2 awarded for scores of 20-29 and so on, up to Level 8. The Green ID Certificate will be valid for three years.
Reapplications are accepted 6 months after the issue date of the Green ID Certificate at the earliest.
All submissions are processed and double-scored by the ESR Sustainability Subcommittee.
The average processing time of applications is 4-8 weeks.
To help prepare for your application, please follow the steps below.
Step 1: Carefully review the application form. Download it here.
Step 2: Checklist
Before starting the Green ID Application form, we recommend that you prepare the following documents and evidence.
- Q 1.1:
- ECR sustainability sessions. Find them in the toolkit below.
- Total number of staff and details about attended courses.
- Q 2.1: List of members’ job titles and list of projects and activities undertaken in the imaging sustainability group or committee.
- Q 3.1: Photographs of Posters encouraging sustainable energy use.
- Q 3.4: If possible, provide evidence that diagnostic reporting workstations are switched off overnight and at weekends when not in use.
- Q 3.7: Evidence for methods in place to monitor power consumption.
- Q 3.8: Operational protocols that are in place for energy demands.
- Q 4.1: Photographs of multiple waste streams and user information.
- Q 4.2: Photographs of recycling bins and user information.
- Q 5.1: Photographs of posters encouraging sustainable water use.
- Q 6.1: Internal audit reports or presentations with dates of audits on areas of sustainable practices, including waste management, energy efficiency, unnecessary and low-value imaging, and others.
- Q 7.1: Name and short description of Clinical Decision Support tool used.
Step 3: Complete the application form.
Green ID Certification form
Should you have any questions or concerns regarding your Green ID application, please contact ESR Office via the following email: [email protected].
Green ID Toolkit
A key part of the Green ID initiative is providing an evidence-based toolkit to help imaging departments integrate sustainable practices and improve their environmental impact, as well as monitor their progress over time.
The toolkit will be updated on a rolling basis.
Literature
No resources available at this moment.
Video
ESOR special focus course on
Introduction to Radiological Sustainability
ECR 2022: Round Table Session
Building bridges: the green radiology department
Lectures (3):
- Shaping the radiology department of the future: environmental sustainability
- Teaming up to define metrics and methodologies to decarbonise imaging
- Discussion
ECR 2022: Round Table Session
The green radiology department
Lectures (4):
- The “Green Fingerprint” Project
- The “GREENWATER” Project
- Discussion
- Shaping the radiology department
ECR 2023: Plenary Lecture
Sustainable radiology
By Sarah Sheard
ECR 2023: Research Presentation Sessions: Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning & Imaging Informatics
New approaches for sustainability and image optimisation
Lectures (8):
- Turn it off! Saving energy in radiology departments by implementing live dashboards showing idle imaging modalities, PCs and PACS workstations not powered down during off-hours
- Reduction of Gadolinium-based contrast agents in magnetic resonance imaging: evaluation of a convolutional neural network in different multiparametric settings
- Diffusion probabilistic models to reduce the need for contrast agents in breast MRI
- Using machine learning to help reduce the need for contrast agents in breast MRI through image synthesis
- Faster MRI acquisition: the relationship between visual and diagnostic quality in prostate MRI reconstruction
- Effect of deep learning based denoising method on low count/reduced time protocol in low dose 18F-FDG scans with digital PET/CT
- Identification of repeat rates in pulmonary embolism exams: comparison of manual and automatic analyses
- Deep learning-based image denoising in imaging of kidney stones: an assessment of image quality and comparison to state-of-the-art image reconstructions
ECR 2024: Innovation in Focus
Make radiology green again: can radiology be sustainable?
Lectures (5):
- Switching off for the future: how to lower energy consumption
- Contrast media recycling: where are we at?
- Waste management in interventional radiology: can we do better?
- Sustainability and AI in radiology: problem or solution?
- Panel discussion: How much impact does radiology have on global warming?
ECR 2024: Research Presentation Session: Radiographers
Current insights and future horizons
Lectures (2):
- Green radiology: a pilot study for a sustainable radiology project
- Caring for tomorrow: sustainable practices in medical imaging departments implemented by radiographers and policy maker”
ESOR Special Focus Series – Sustainability in Radiology
Green Certifications & the ESR Green ID
Lectures:
- Green Certifications & the ESR Green ID
Tools and Other Resources
No resources available at this moment.
No resources available at this moment.
Literature
No resources available at this moment.
Video
No resources available at this moment.
Tools and Other Resources
No resources available at this moment.
Literature
- Quantitative Assessment of Computed Tomography Energy Use and Cost Savings Through Overnight and Weekend Power Down in a Radiology Department | Link
- The Energy Consumption of Radiology: Energy- and Cost-saving Opportunities for CT and MRI Operation | Link
- Ecodesign and Operational Strategies to Reduce the Carbon Footprint of MRI for Energy Cost Savings | Link
- Low-Carbon MRI: Acceleration Strategies to Reduce Emissions and Expand Imaging Capacity | Link
- Interventional Imaging Systems in Radiology, Cardiology, and Urology: Energy Consumption, Carbon Emissions, and Electricity Costs | Link
- Energy consumption of ultrasound devices during routine applications and opportunities to save energy and costs | Link
- Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of a U.S. Hospital-based Radiology Practice | Link
- The carbon footprint of hospital diagnostic imaging in Australia | Link
- ‘‘EcoRadiology’’—Pulling the Plug on Wasted Energy in the Radiology Department | Link
- Reducing the carbon footprint of radiology through automatic workstation shutdown protocols | Link
- The environmental impact of energy consumption and carbon emissions in radiology departments: a systematic review | Link
- Turn It Off! A Simple Method to Save Energy and CO2 Emissions in a Hospital Setting with Focus on Radiology by Monitoring Nonproductive Energy-consuming Devices | Link
Video
ESOR special focus course on
Energy Use & Data Storage
Tools and Other Resources
- Turn It Off
Description: Software download and installation guide for open-source device monitoring described in the “Turn It Off…” article above | Link - Carbon intensity of electricity generation, 2024
Description: To lookup the carbon emissions for electricity generation by country to estimate carbon emissions of devices | Link - Electricity Mix
Description: Overview of electricity production sources by country | Link - COCIR Self Regulatory Initiative for Medical Imaging Devices
Description: Methodologies that enable standardized energy assessments across the industry and Guidelines which provide users with recommendations on how to save energy | Link
Literature
- Visualizing the Invisible: Invisible Waste in Diagnostic Imaging | Link
- The green and sustainable radiology department | Link
- Tackling the increasing contamination of the water supply by iodinated contrast media | Link
- Approaches to reduce medical imaging departments’ environmental impact: A scoping review | Link
- Recycling in IR, What IR Specialists Can Do to Help | Link
- Assessing the Burden of Packaging and Recyclability of Single-Use Products in Interventional Radiology | Link
- Sustainability in the Interventional Radiology Suite: Environmental and Financial Implications | Link
- Sustainability within interventional radiology: opportunities and hurdles | Link
Video
ESOR special focus course on
General Waste Management
Tools and Other Resources
No resources available at this moment.
No resources available at this moment.
Literature
No resources available at this moment.
Video
No resources available at this moment.
Tools and Other Resources
No resources available at this moment.
No resources available at this moment.
Literature
- Sustainability in healthcare by reducing low-value imaging | Link
- Environmental Sustainability and AI in Radiology: A Double-Edged Sword | Link
- Impact of point-of-care clinical decision support on referrer behavior, imaging volume, patient radiation dose exposure, and sustainability | Link
- Radiology AI and sustainability paradox: environmental, economic, and social dimensions | Link
- Approaches to reduce medical imaging departments’ environmental impact: A scoping review | Link
- The green and sustainable radiology department | Link
Video
No resources available at this moment.
Tools and Other Resources
No resources available at this moment.
Literature
- Review of strategies to reduce the contamination of the water environment by gadolinium-based contrast agents | Link
- The Environmental Impact of Iodinated Contrast Media: Strategies for Optimized Use and Recycling | Link
- More sustainable use of iodinated contrast media – Why? | Link
- Iodinated contrast media waste management in hospitals in central Norway | Link
- Tackling the increasing contamination of the water supply by iodinated contrast media | Link
- ISCT: Radiologists can help reduce iodinated contrast media waste | Link
- Reducing contrast agent residuals in hospital wastewater: the GREENWATER study protocol | Link
- Thoughts on sustainability in the use of iodinated contrast media in CT: a practice-oriented review based on the example of a hospital and a private practice | Link
- The Environmental Impact of Medical Imaging Agents and the Roadmap to Sustainable Medical Imaging | Link
- Recycling iodine: How hospitals are keeping contrast media in the circular economy | Link
- Our New Iodine Recollection Pilot and Re.Viva | Link
- Bracco research program | Link
- Gadolinium as a new emerging contaminant of aquatic environments | Link
- Anthropogenic gadolinium in the Tone River (Japan): an update showing a 7.7-fold increase from 1996 to 2020 | Link
- German study finds trace gadolinium in fast-food drinks | Link
- Can Virtual Contrast Enhancement in Brain MRI Replace Gadolinium?: A Feasibility Study | Link
- Sustainable Imaging eBook (Modern Radiology) | Link
Video
ESOR special focus course on
Optimizing Procedures, Protocols, and Resources
ESOR Special Focus Series – Sustainability in Radiology
Contrast Agent Management
Tools and Other Resources
No resources available at this moment.
Literature
- The green and sustainable radiology department | Link
- Environmental Life Cycle Assessment of a U.S. Hospital-based Radiology Practice | Link
- The carbon footprint of hospital diagnostic imaging in Australia | Link
- The environmental impact of energy consumption and carbon emissions in radiology departments: a systematic review | Link
- Sustainability within interventional radiology: opportunities and hurdles | Link
- The carbon footprint of modern imaging | Link
- Green Imaging: Scoping Review of Radiology’s Environmental Impact | Link
- The Environmental Impact of Iodinated Contrast Media: Strategies for Optimized Use and Recycling | Link
- Tackling the increasing contamination of the water supply by iodinated contrast media | Link
- Towards sustainability for medical devices and consumables: The radical and incremental challenges in the technology ecosystem | Link
Video
No resources available at this moment.
Tools and Other Resources
- European Commission: EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria—Imaging equipment
Description: Project webpage of the revision of EU Green Public Procurement (GPP) criteria for “Imaging equipment” | Link - MEPA Alliance. Guidance to Sustainability Criteria for Purchasing of Medical Imaging Devices |
Link
Tree of Leaves
Becoming a green imaging department is a journey!
See the journey of fellow imaging departments that have received an ESR Green ID Certification below.
Germany
Institute of Diagnostic & Interventional Radiology, Karlsruhe
Italy
Department of Radiology, Centro Diagnostico Italiano, Milan
Malta
Medical Imaging Department, Mater Dei Hospital, Msida
Romania
Medical Imaging Center, University of Medicine and Pharmacy of Craiova, Craiova
Russia
University Medical Center of Lomonosov Moscow State University, Moscow
Belgium
Department of Radiology, Antwerp University Hospital (UZA), Edegem (Antwerp)
France
Department of Medical Imaging, DCSS Hospital, Paris
Germany
Department of Radiology, Evidia MVZ Braunschweig, Braunschweig
Greece
Corfu MRI and Diagnostic Center, Corfu
Libya
Department of Radiology, Misrata Heart and Cardiovascular Center, Misrata
Netherlands
Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam
Portugal
Imaging Department, ULSRA, Aveiro
Türkiye
Department of Radiology, Hacettepe University, Ankara
Denmark
Department of Radiology, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen
France
Department of Medical Imaging, Olympe Imagerie, Antony
Germany
Gemeinschaftskrankenhaus Havelhöhe, Berlin
Department of Radiology, Radiologie Nuklearmedizin Mannheim, Mannheim
Netherlands
Department of Medical Imaging, Radboud UMC, Nijmegen
Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, Amsterdam UMC, Amsterdam
Portugal
CUF Tejo Hospital, Lisbon
Sweden
Department of Radiology, Östersund Hospital, Östersund
Switzerland
Department of Radiology & Nuclear Medicine, USB, Basel
United Kingdom
Royal Hospital for Children & Young People, Edinburgh
Italy
Radiology Department, IRCCS Galeazzi Sant’Ambrogio Hospital, Milan
Netherlands
Department of Radiology, Alrijne Ziekenhuis, Leiderdorp
Leiden University Medical Center, Leiden
Spain
Álvaro Cunqueiro Hospital, Vigo
Department of Radiology, Hospital Clínic de Barcelona, Barcelona
Switzerland
HFR Cantonal Hospital of Fribourg, Fribourg
United Kingdom
Imaging Department, Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust, London
Germany
Department of Diagnostic and Interventional Radiology, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg
Germany
Department of Diagnostic & Interventional Radiology, UKT, Tübingen
Switzerland
Clinic of Radiology, IDISI, Ente Ospedaliero Cantonale, Lugano
