2025: The Year of UV-C – Make the Sustainable Switch

The article discusses the role of UV-C disinfection technology as a sustainable alternative to traditional methods, emphasizing its environmental benefits and alignment with the Green Deal in The Netherlands.

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2025: The Year of UV-C – Make the Sustainable Switch

Healthcare authorities face mounting pressure to adopt eco-friendly infection control practices because the sector contributes significantly to global greenhouse gas emissions. In 2025, the healthcare sector faces an unprecedented imperative to embrace sustainability without compromising patient care.

To accelerate the transition to a sustainable and circular economy, the Netherlands set up the Green Deal, a collaborative framework that brings together governments, businesses, and research institutions to tackle environmental challenges and drive innovation.

UV Smart reaffirms its dedication to fostering eco-conscious healthcare innovations by re-signing the Green Deal, leveraging UV-C disinfection technology to manufacture UV-C disinfection products with minimal environmental impact.

In this article, you will learn more about the Green Deal initiative and how UV Smart is pioneering innovative UV-C disinfection solutions to support the switch from traditional disinfection methods.

The Green Deal and UV Smart’s Role

The Netherlands, like many other countries, has begun an ambitious journey towards achieving sustainability. The Netherlands’ Green Deal is a collaborative effort to significantly reduce CO₂ emissions across various sectors.

One of the targets of this initiative is to reach a 49% decline in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 compared to the 1990 level. Given this development, it is critical for health care stakeholders to integrate sustainable, eco-friendly, and novel solutions into their infection control practices without compromising patient safety or care quality.

By re-signing the Green Deal UV Smart has set a standard in the medical technology sector, focusing to transform disinfection methodologies and propel the entire industry towards green healthcare innovations. UV Smart has leveraged UV-C disinfection technology to create practical and safe solutions that minimize reliance on chemical disinfectants and reduce energy consumption. By prioritizing energy-efficient systems and powerful infection control methods, UV Smart seeks to empower healthcare professionals to adopt sustainable, low-carbon solutions that can protect patients and the environment.

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The Environmental Impact of Traditional Disinfection

Traditional disinfection methods, such as chemical disinfectants in healthcare settings, adversely impact the environment and are significantly expensive.

For instance, manual disinfection processes use a considerable amount of consumables, posing a challenge for the environment. Also, healthcare facilities that rely on chemical disinfectants will likely generate toxic environmental waste that could infiltrate the water systems and disrupt the aquatic ecosystems in the long term. A review study from ecological scientists found that significant quantities of potentially harmful organochlorine compounds known as disinfection by-products (DBPs) are primarily found in the environments of hospitals that use chlorine-based disinfectants¹ .

Most traditional methods are energy-intensive and consume large amounts of energy, which could strain available resources and future operational viability in some healthcare settings.

Contribution to Healthcare's Carbon Footprint

The healthcare sector contributes to the carbon footprint due to the continuous practice of traditional disinfection methods. The production, distribution, and disposal of chemical disinfectants and consumables requires energy-intensive processes that release greenhouse gases into the atmosphere and environment.

Also, traditional disinfection processes, such as water heating, demand substantial energy, which is obtained from fossil fuels. Without transitioning to an eco-friendly infection control process, these carbon emissions can worsen climate change locally and globally.

Therefore, this calls for a shift towards disinfection control practices that do not compromise infection control standards and promote a balance between patient safety and environmental impact.

UV-C Technology: A Green Alternative

UV-C technology-powered disinfection products are suitable alternatives for a safe and more sustainable future. UV-C disinfection offers innovative approaches for healthcare facilities to achieve the needed balance between infection control and environmental sustainability.

This technology leverages the use of ultraviolet-C light to destroy disease-causing microbes on medical devices.

At the wavelength between 200 and 320nm, UV-C light damages and eliminates pathogens' nucleic acids(DNA and RNA) ².

UV-C technology achieves high-level disinfection without chemicals, water, or disposable consumables. Through the power of ultraviolet energy, UV-C technology promotes environmental sustainability by protecting water sources and aquatic life from the toxic effects of chemical pollutants released by traditional methods.

Additionally, UV-C technology is energy-efficient and does not involve significant energy-consuming processes, which contributes to carbon emissions into the atmosphere. The UV Smart D60 device is a suitable example of a UV-C technology device that is both environmentally friendly and effective. The device reduces carbon emissions with efficient energy consumption without water or chemicals, while delivering high level disinfection for channel-less endoscopes and TEE-probes in just 60 seconds.

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Researchers from Reinier de Graaf Hospital and Delft University of Technology conducted research to compare the ecological footprint of using UV Smart D60 and chemical disinfectants to disinfect semi-critical medical devices (flexible channel-less ENT scopes). The findings suggest that using a UV Smart D60 could save a hospital approximately 19,180 pounds of CO2 emissions, 408.8 gallons of chemicals, 2,080 gallons of water, 3686.8 KWh of energy, and 1,723 miles of transportation per year ³.

Hence, UV-C disinfection exemplifies the future of disinfection practices for healthcare facilities to advance infection control protocols while championing environmental sustainability.

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Leading the Way in 2025

As the global climate goals, such as the 2030 emission reduction target, approach, it is becoming imperative for health care leaders to prioritize a shift to environmentally sustainable disinfection methods.

Governments of countries like the United States and the UK's National Health Service have set up initiatives to meet the 2030 emission goals. For example, the United States government has begun collaborative campaigns with 61 of the largest U.S. hospital and health sector companies to reach a 50% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2030 ⁴.

By harnessing the power of ultraviolet light, UV-C disinfection devices serve as a beacon of hope in this sustainability landscape. Their chemical-free, energy- and water-conserving disinfection processes are ideal for preserving our local and global ecosystems.

Final Thoughts

In 2025, it is now pressing for the healthcare systems to embrace sustainable solutions like UV-C disinfection. This innovative technology eliminates the environmental burdens of traditional disinfection methods.

UV Smart is leading this revolution with innovative solutions like the UV Smart D60 device, which significantly reduces carbon emissions in the medical equipment disinfection process through energy-efficient operation, eliminating the need for water or chemicals.

By switching to a more sustainable infection control solution, healthcare workers seize the opportunity to decrease the healthcare sector's carbon footprint and also contribute towards a healthier ecosystem.

Join the sustainability revolution today. Explore how UV Smart’s innovative products can transform infection control practices while protecting the environment by clicking here.

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