Grønne hospitaler - en del af omstillingen skal BÆRES af DYGTIGE regioner: En undersøgelse af bæredygtighedskonsulenters praksis

Abstract

Keywords: Implementation, sustainability strategy, practice theory, co-creation Sustainability is an omnipresent topic and a complex challenge to manage. It is a wicked problem which contains many stakeholders and many uncertainties. This thesis deals with the sustainable restructuring of hospital operations and we reveal a region's organization of sustainability work and we are interested in the role of sustainability consultants in implementing the region's strategy. Based on a social constructivist positioning, this thesis includes theory of practice and a practice- theoretical analysis model made by Kemmis et. al. to gain insight into what characterizes the practice of sustainability consultants. It explains which structures have been created for sustainability work in the organization, both at the individual hospitals and across the region. With the sustainability consultants as informants and observations made at Koncern Bæredygtighed, the implementation of sustainability efforts and the sustainability consultants' similarities and differences are mapped. In addition, the collaboration in the organization and the culture of decision-making processes are described with associated challenges. We explore our informant's own understanding of their role and what they think are important tools and work methods when you are a sustainability consultant. All sustainability consultants agree on the goal they are working towards in their practice, but the path to get there varies and contains different priorities. They all focus on working closely with the clinic and find that there is value in doing relationship work in the departments, as relationships are important when working with change initiatives. The analysis shows that there are barriers to implementing the sustainable initiatives due to a complex organizational structure where a top-down approach is dominant. A key finding is that there is a hierarchical decision-making system and management system for the sustainability work in the organization, which does not involve the sustainability consultants. This means that knowledge is lost in the hierarchy system and that the decisions that are made can be far from reality in the hospital departments. Communication channels across the organization lack transparency and there is a lack of an overview of the division of roles between the different functions. In order to create momentum in the sustainable transition at the hospitals, and to ensure that the decisions made about sustainability are realistic and connected with practice, it can be advantageous to include more co-creative processes. A more open and co-creative management system would involve the sustainability consultants and possibly the sustainability ambassadors, which would ensure that knowledge is not lost in a hierarchy system and that the overview is extended to the sustainability consultants and does not remain exclusively in the administrative units.

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A master thesis from Aalborg University

Grønne hospitaler - en del af omstillingen skal BÆRES af DYGTIGE regioner: En undersøgelse af bæredygtighedskonsulenters praksis

[Sustainable hospitals - part of the transition must be carried by capable regions: A survey of the practice of sustainability consultants]