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Environmentally sustainable businesses contribute to healthy ecosystems by improving soil health, increasing biodiversity, and reducing the carbon and water footprint of food production, while advancing public health and worker safety. Animal welfare encompasses all aspects of animals’ well-being, and high animal welfare is achieved when an animal’s physical, mental, and behavioral needs are met throughout its life. In this section, we outline purchasing best practices that address both environmental sustainability and high animal welfare.
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Operating rooms generate as much as 60 percent of a hospital’s regulated, or "red bag," medical waste. Regulated medical waste is among the most heavily regulated and expensive waste streams to dispose of, in part because of the hazard it poses to people and the environment if improperly handled.
Virtually all waste generated during case setup is sterile and can be safely recycled. Working with infection control and environmental services to ensure applicable regulated medical waste definitions are clear and followed can be a game changer. When properly sorted, a significant portion of waste… Read More
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Moving from single-use, disposable items to reusable items is an effective waste reduction strategy in the operating room, and also reduces upstream environmental impacts because fewer natural resources need to be extracted, shipped, manufactured, produced, and distributed. Reusability of supplies and products should be a priority in every purchasing decision, and the opportunities in the OR abound, including:
Suction canisters
Pulse oximetry probes
Basins/pitchers
Positioning devices
Surgical linens (gowns, drapes, covers, towels)
Blood pressure cuffs
Tourniquets
Sharps containers… Read More
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Climate change is the most serious and pressing environmental issue and an emerging threat to human health. Working to determine emissions produced by various aspects of hospital operations is a top priority to support mitigation and resilience goals.
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The built environment plays an important role in both the promotion of healing in patients and the health of building occupants. Most green building data is related to design and construction policies, planning, and standards – including information on building materials and furnishings.
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Transportation is a major contributor to hazardous air pollution that can cause respiratory disease, asthma, preterm birth, low birth weight, and other health impacts and the largest source of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. An array of strategies contribute to driving down emissions from transportation – many of which require complex data tracking.
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Composting landscape and food waste is a viable waste reduction strategy for many hospital and health systems. Long-term benefits of compost programs for hospitals might include:
Reduces incineration or landfill disposal costs for dense and heavy landscape and food scraps
Avoids costly extra water discharges from wastewater treatment due to food waste sludge created by industrial food disposal systems.
Saves landscaping budget by increasing water retention, aeration, and soil nutrients, which reduces mulch, fertilizers, and pesticide purchases.
Unneeded compost can potentially be sold… Read More
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Hospitals are offering healthier menus, working with farmers to purchase locally and sustainably grown products, moving toward plant-forward menus, and going beyond their walls to help meet the food needs of their community in an effort to support the health of their patients, staff, surrounding community and the environment. Food service data can be complicated by the accessibility of the data and a number of different data owners.
Note: Please indicate on the application which areas of food service data is being collected from: patient meals, cafeteria, catering, and/or vending.
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As sustainability programs gain momentum and leadership support, send a clear message about the priorities of the program by setting targets or goals. Executive stakeholders will take the program more seriously if deliverables are managed and measured, similar to other programmatic initiatives within the organization. Specific, measurable, and time-bound (often referred to as SMART goals) will set the direction for staffing, capacity, and resource allocation resulting in improved performance and impact.
Practice Greehealth recommends addressing the following questions when setting… Read More
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Build healthier food environments for your patrons through education, promotion, and marketing of healthy foods and beverages at your facility.
Healthy food environments include the food itself – whole or minimally-processed – as well as community culture. Hospitals can promote community health by offering culturally-relevant, nourishing food that honors communities’ food traditions and protects against food-related chronic disease.
As promoters and protectors of community health, hospitals can use procurement and related strategies to foster healthy and resilient communities.
Sample… Read More
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Join Practice Greenhealth
Practice Greenhealth is the health care sector’s go-to source for information, tools, data, resources, and expert technical support on sustainability initiatives that help hospitals and health systems meet their health, financial, and community goals.
Who We Are
Practice Greenhealth is the leading sustainable health care organization, delivering environmental solutions to more than 1,500 hospitals and health systems in the United States and Canada. Partnership opportunities include hospitals, health systems, community health organizations, NGOs, nonprofits, government, academic institutions, and the health care value chain.