On 11-12 March 2025, just ahead of World Kidney Day, partners of the KitNewCare project gathered in Madrid for their General Assembly. With World Kidney Day this year highlighting “Kidney Health for All”, the meeting provided an important moment to reflect on how sustainable innovation in kidney care can improve both patient outcomes and environmental impact.

Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) affects around 10% of the population worldwide, and its treatment — including dialysis and transplants — relies on resource-intensive procedures. These essential treatments generate high levels of water and energy consumption, produce significant amounts of plastic waste, and contribute to carbon emissions linked to patient travel to healthcare facilities.

At the General Assembly, KitNewCare partners reviewed the progress made so far, particularly in areas that directly address these environmental challenges. Key topics discussed included:

• Technological innovations and policy recommendations developed to reduce the footprint of kidney care.
• New clinical pathways for peritoneal dialysis and haemodialysis, shaped by life cycle assessments (LCA) to measure and minimise environmental impact.
• The project’s benchmarking tool, designed to help clinical sites monitor and improve their sustainability performance.
• Updates on capacity building activities, designed to equip healthcare professionals with green skills and tools to adopt more sustainable practices.
• An interactive session where pilot sites shared their experiences, challenges, and best practices for integrating sustainability into daily care.
• A dedicated webinar with KitNewCare’s sister projects that explored collaborative solutions for reducing this environmental burden.

World Kidney Day, marked annually on 13 March, reminds us of the importance of kidney health, prevention, and patient care. This year, KitNewCare partners took the opportunity to highlight that sustainable innovation in kidney care is not just about protecting the environment — it is also essential to ensure the resilience and future-readiness of the healthcare sector itself.

The discussions and outcomes from the General Assembly will feed directly into the next steps of KitNewCare, helping to ensure that the innovations, pathways, and training materials developed in the project contribute not only to better patient care, but also to a healthier planet.