Climate Action and Sustainability in Academic Medicine

Collaborative convening for Practice Greenhealth network members.

The Climate Action and Sustainability in Academic Medicine community brings together sustainability, facilities, engineering, and clinical leaders from academic health systems to share practical insights, peer experience, and emerging strategies for advancing climate action in academic medicine.

Each collaborative meeting focuses on a specific challenge or opportunity currently facing academic health systems.

July Topic: Advancing Sustainability with a Nationally Recognized Framework

Join sustainability leaders from academic health systems and Joint Commission for a practical discussion on how organizations are operationalizing sustainability efforts across their systems. The session will begin with a brief context on the Joint Commission Sustainable Healthcare Certification framework and key approaches, followed by peer insights on implementation, benefits, challenges, and how sustainability initiatives are shaping strategy, operations, and performance, followed by open discussion and Q&A.

Panelists include:

• Kevin Zacharyasz, Director of Healthcare Policy, Joint Commission
• Mary Evers Statz, Executive Director, Sustainability, Indiana University Health
• Kyle Tafuri, Vice President, Sustainability, Hackensack Meridian Health

Launched in 2023, the Climate Action and Sustainability in Academic Medicine Community forum is designed for individuals at academic health systems who have a professional or educational interest in sustainability and climate action across their organizational missions (clinical care, research, education, community engagement, and operations and facilities). This community is supported by the American Society for Health Care Engineering (ASHE), the Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC), and Practice Greenhealth.