Klinická farmakologie a farmacie – 2/2026

www.klinickafarmakologie.cz / Klin Farmakol Farm. 2026;40(2):108-111 / KLINICKÁ FARMAKOLOGIE A FARMACIE 111 HLAVNÍ TÉMA Environmental sustainability in clinical research material on sustainable trial designs. The majority of existing resources have an occasional character and provide useful introductions, but are insufficient given the scale, complexity, and multidisciplinary nature of the challenges of implementing sustainability principles into clinical research (20, 27, 28, 30, 32, 33). In order to raise awareness of sustainability in clinical trials via education and to address this educational gap, the ERASMUS+ GREEN-TRIALS project had been proposed by the Masaryk University, the University College Cork, the NOVA University Lisbon, the University of Nicosia, and ECRIN and launched as part of the same consortium in November 2025. The GREEN-TRIALS project focuses on integrating sustainability principles into the trial methodology curriculum and creating highly innovative structured learning resources covering the topic from broad perspectives. The GREENTRIALS project’s primary target population is undergraduate healthcare students, but the curriculum will be adapted for clinical trialists and other professionals more or less directly involved in trial design and oversight. Moreover, the GREEN-TRIALS project places strong emphasis on reach and its own sustainability. The curriculum will be available in English and translated into four other languages. Additionally, each curriculum unit will be accompanied by a teacher’s guide. A series of international, free training events will be conducted in 2027 and 2028 to support widespread capacity building. Conclusion The findings clearly indicate that both healthcare and clinical research are important contributors to global greenhouse gas emissions, making them priority areas for resource‑efficiency and sustainability efforts. Progress in this domain depends on a precise understanding of the emissions associated with specific research processes and on the feasibility of optimizing these processes, too. Although sustainability considerations are only beginning to be systematically integrated into clinical trial methodology, increasing awareness and coordinated stakeholder engagement can significantly accelerate the development of effective solutions. Moreover, sustainable elements in clinical trial design may offer benefits that extend beyond environmental impact reduction – by reducing participant burden, enhancing inclusivity, and improving the feasibility of generating quality data. Integrating sustainability principles into clinical research thus represents an important step toward advancing both scientific rigor and environmental responsibility. REFERENCES 1. Lenzen M, Malik A, Li M, et al. The environmental footprint of health care: a global assessment. Lancet Planet Health. 2020;4:e271-e279. 2. Zikhathile T, Atagana H, Bwapwa J, et al. A Review of the Impact That Healthcare Risk Waste Treatment Technologies Have on the Environment. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2022;19:11967. 3. Health care’s climate footprint. [Internet]. Health Care Without Harm; 2019 [cited 2026 Mar 27]. Available from: https://global.noharm.org/sites/default/files/documents-files/5961/HealthCaresClimateFootprint_092319.pdf. 4. Chen-Xu J, Corda MO, Varga O, et al. Health burden and costs attributable to the carbon footprint of the health sector in the European Union. Environ Int. 2024;190:108828. 5. Bressler RD. The mortality cost of carbon. Nat Commun. 2021;12:4467. 6. Building a cohort of health authorities committed to zero emissions. Health Care Without Harm - Europe [Internet]. Health Care Without Harm Europe [cited 2026 Feb 22]. Available from: https://europe.noharm.org/news/building-cohort-health-authorities-committed-zero-emissions. 7. Nations U. Net Zero Coalition. United Nations [Internet]. United Nations [cited 2026 Feb 23]. Available from: https://www. un.org/en/climatechange/net-zero-coalition. 8. Net Zero Tracker | Welcome. Net Zero Tracker [Internet]. [cited 2026 Feb 23]. Available from: https://zerotracker.net/. 9. Environment, climate and health - Research and innovation. European Commission [Internet]. European Commission; 2025 [cited 2026 Feb 23]. Available from: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/research-area/health/environment-climate-and-health_en. 10. Horizon Europe - Research and innovation - European Commission. European Commission [Internet]. European Commission; 2026 [cited 2026 Feb 23]. Available from: https://research-and-innovation.ec.europa.eu/funding/funding-opportunities/funding-programmes-and-open-calls/ horizon-europe_en. 11. Gregorio R. About CARING NATURE. CARING NATURE [Internet]. CARING NATURE [cited 2026 Feb 24]. Available from: https://caringnature.eu/about-caring-nature/. 12. KITNEWCARE - Sustainable Care, Lasting Impact. KitNewCare [Internet]. KitNewCare [cited 2026 Feb 24]. Available from: https://kitnewcare.eu/. 13. Homepage. NetZeroAICT [Internet]. NetZeroAICT [cited 2026 Feb 24]. Available from: https://netzeroaict.eu/. 14. Group STS. Towards sustainable clinical trials. 2007. 15. Adshead F, Salman RA-S, Aumonier S, et al. A strategy to reduce the carbon footprint of clinical trials. Lancet. 2021;398:281-282. 16. Sustainable Markets Initiative Health Systems Task Force. The digital solution for sustainability in clinical research. 2022. 17. iLCCT Calculator. [Internet]. [cited 2026 Mar 23]. Available from: https://clinicaltrialcarbon.org/. 18. Sustainable Clinical Trials: Reducing Greenhouse Gas Emissions. DIA Glob Forum [Internet]. DIA; 2025 [cited 2026 Mar 27]. Available from: https://globalforum.diaglobal.org/ issue/march-2025/sustainable-clinical-trials-reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions/. 19. Clinical trials iLCCT – the industry Low Carbon Clinical Trials project for commercial trials. Sustainable Healthcare Coalition [Internet]. Sustainable Healthcare Coalition [cited 2026 Mar 27]. Available from: https://shcoalition.org/clinical- -trials-ilcct-the-industry-low-carbon-clinical-trials-project- -for-commercial-trials/. 20. Enabling Lower Carbon Clinical Trials. MRC Methodology Hubs [Internet]. [cited 2026 Mar 26]. Available from: https:// www.methodologyhubs.mrc.ac.uk/about/working-groups/ trial-conductwg/tcwg-subgroup-greener-trials/enabling- -lower-carbon-clinical-trials-cict-project. 21. Kohl SH, Schmidt-Lucke C. Clinical trials to go green- –A sustainable argument for decentralised digital clinical trials. PLOS Digit Health. 2023;2:e0000366. 22. Fries LR, Khaled N, Viveros Santos I, et al. Decentralized clinical trials are better for the participants and for the planet: the case study of a double-blind randomized controlled trial in Singapore (PROMOTE study). Front Public Health. 2025;12. 23. Mittermaier M, Venkatesh KP, Kvedar JC. Digital health technology in clinical trials. NPJ Digit Med. 2023;6:88. 24. Grosman-Rimon L, Wegier P. With advancement in health technology comes great responsibility – Ethical and safety considerations for using digital health technology: A narrative review. Medicine (Baltimore). 2024;103:e39136. 25. Lasia. Aligning environmental, social, and governance to clinical development: moving towards more sustainable clinical trials. GaBI J [Internet]. 2024 [cited 2026 Feb 23]. Available from: https://gabi-journal.net/aligning-environmental- -social-and-governance-to-clinical-development-moving-towards-more-sustainable-clinical-trials.html. 26. Hoffmann J-M, Bauer A, Grossmann R. The carbon footprint of clinical trials: a global survey on the status quo and current regulatory guidance. BMJ Glob Health. 2023;8. 27. Who We Are. Sustainable Healthcare Coalition [Internet]. Sustainable Healthcare Coalition [cited 2026 Mar 17]. Available from: https://shcoalition.org/who-we-are/. 28. Health Systems taskforce. Sustainable Markets Initiative [Internet]. Sustainable Markets Initiative [cited 2026 Mar 27]. Available from: https://www.sustainable-markets.org/taskforces/health-systems-taskforce/taskforces/health-systems-taskforce. 29. Sustainable clinical trials knowledge hub. Sustainable Healthcare Coalition [Internet]. Sustainable Healthcare Coalition [cited 2026 Mar 27]. Available from: https://shcoalition.org/ sustainable-clinical-trials-knowledge-hub/. 30. Sustainability. Institute of Cancer Research [Internet]. Institute of Cancer Research [cited 2026 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.icr.ac.uk/research-and-discoveries/centres-and- -strategic-collaborations/clinical-trials-and-statistics-unit-icr- -ctsu/about-us/sustainability. 31. About the TMRP. Trials Methodology Research Partnership [Internet]. TMRP; 2023 [cited 2026 Mar 21]. Available from: https://mrctmrpdtp.com/about-the-tmrp/. 32. Breast International Group (BIG) — Organisational Update. Breast International Group [Internet]. BIG [cited 2026 Mar 17]. Available from: https://bigagainstbreastcancer.org/. 33. HRB-TMRN. HRB Trials Methodology Research Network [Internet]. HRB-TMRN [cited 2026 Mar 17]. Available from: https://www.hrb-tmrn.ie/.

RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy NDA4Mjc=