Climate change is increasingly shaping patient presentations while healthcare delivery itself contributes significantly to emissions. In Canada, the sector accounts for approximately 5% of national greenhouse gases, with internal medicine practices playing a substantial role. At the same time, up to 30% of tests and treatments may be unnecessary—adding risk for patients and avoidable environmental harm. Despite growing learner interest and national momentum toward integrating planetary health into training, formal curricula within Medical Teaching Units remain limited. This gap represents a missed opportunity to train future internists in delivering care that is both high-quality and environmentally responsible.
Planetary Health Rounds embed sustainability into existing teaching structures through case-based learning. Residents are supported by trained champions and use tools such as lifecycle assessment databases and emissions calculators to quantify the environmental impact of care. Through structured discussion, learners identify low-value interventions, explore climate-related drivers of illness, and consider alternatives that maintain or improve outcomes. Practical implementation includes scheduling preparatory sessions, enabling hybrid participation, and fostering interdisciplinary engagement.
Integrating monthly Planetary Health Rounds Rounds into the Medical Teaching Unit creates protected time for education, reflection, and collaboration. At a micro level, learner champions, structured sessions, and broad participation drive engagement. At a macro level, the initiative catalyzes research, quality improvement, and curriculum expansion—positioning internal medicine as a leader in sustainable, forward-thinking care.
Project Charter: Project Charter – Planetary Health Rounds
This Rounds format was created so that healthcare teams can better understand how climate change is impacting the health of patients and begin to understand the greenhouse gas emissions associated with care. Team members from across health professions can be included in these presentations. This slide deck was developed by the Green MTU team, with the support of CASCADES.
This preparatory slide deck was created to introduce the Planetary Health Rounds format to learners. A Planetary Health Champion, with clinical expertise, will use this deck to explain the intention and format of the Rounds. This deck provides guidance on what to include in case presentations but does not capture the discussion during Rounds. It is important to have a Planetary Health Champion present during Rounds to provide additional context and to answer questions.
