How Coolfood data drives financial results

Beth Israel Lahey Health is demonstrating that sustainability initiatives can drive impressive fiscal returns. The Massachusetts health system knew that plant-forward dining options reduced greenhouse gas emissions, but without a way to measure the financial value, it was hard to convince decision-makers that climate-smart food is also smart business.

With the support of Practice Greenhealth, a team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) in Boston successfully developed a breakthrough cost-avoidance methodology using existing data from the Coolfood Pledge.

They proved that prioritizing plant proteins is an effective cost-saving strategy, averaging more than 11% average cost avoidance in annual food spending since 2022. Over a seven-year period, the team also achieved a 19% reduction in the climate impact per meal.

Jenny Arthur, head of Coolfood, highlights the importance of this development: "For years, the sustainability and health benefits of serving plant-rich meals have been clear – but translating those wins into financial language that resonates with CFOs has proved difficult. The BIDMC team developed a rigorous, validated methodology to make the business case for plant-rich meals in their own institutions, and any Coolfood signatory can use it to do the same."

By adopting this strategy, hospitals can now quantify the business case for climate-smart dining.