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In a shifting health care landscape, sustainability programs are a timely investment that can generate significant cost-savings while offering a range of co-benefits. Across the country, hospitals are taking leadership roles in their communities in advocating for more environmentally responsible operations, cleaner energy, healthier and more sustainable food systems, and a smarter supply chain that avoids chemicals of concerns and drives market transformation toward safer products.
In one year, 355 leading hospitals saved more than $826 million by integrating a myriad of different… Read More
Type: Resources
Practice Greenhealth’s benchmark reporting represents the nation’s premier analysis of sustainability performance data for the health care sector. The 355 hospitals in this year’s data set saved more than $826 million on a range of different sustainable programs over the course of 2016, while deepening relationships with their communities and better supporting a more expansive definition of health. This data will assist hospitals in identifying key sustainability program opportunities by benchmarking their own program’s performance. This report is divided into 10 distinct benchmarking… Read More
Type: Resources
Practice Greenhealth’s 2016 Sustainability Benchmark Report highlights the achievements of the 2016 Environmental Excellence award winners. More than 300 hospitals provided data for this year’s report, with combined savings of more than $92 million across a range of environmental program areas. The new report provides not only a benchmarking comparison for hospitals already engaged in the work, but also showcases a range of success stories demonstrating how a commitment to a healthy environment can assist health care administrators in achieving financial goals while engaging and empowering… Read More
Type: Resources
(Less waste toolkit) Hospitals are pouring, burying, burning and cooking garbage made up of plastics, chemicals, paper, food, needles, packaging and lots of electronic equipment. With rising waste removal fees, beach wash-ups, medical waste incinerators identified as a major source of mercury in the environment and the Associated Press’ recent investigation on pharmaceutical waste in the country’s drinking water, it’s undeniable that “away” is a rotary that loops right back to where we started. Steps hospitals take to make less “stuff” can reduce dollars thrown in the trash and help to… Read More
Type: Resources
(Delivering community benefit: Climate and health) Climate change affects the social and environmental determinants of health: clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter. Doctors are increasingly treating patients with climate-related illnesses, and more than 70 percent recognize that climate is affecting their patients. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) predicts these changes will exacerbate some of our most pressing community health risks: obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular risks, asthma, access to care, and mental health concerns. Children, elderly, and… Read More
Type: Resources
The current sustainability program at Legacy Health is built around the Healthier Hospitals Initiative (HHI) model which includes six areas of focus: engaged leadership, healthier food, leaner energy, less waste, safer chemicals and smarter purchasing. In addition, Legacy has added commute trip reduction as a discrete category to the program. Even though significant progress is being made in each area, Legacy has not implemented a system-wide robust, reliable and consistent method to gather data related to all this work within the context of environmental sustainability. A more developed… Read More
Type: Resources
Sample third-party labels, certifications, and databases for health care goods and services
(Sustainable procurement guide) Finding sustainable products in health care is achievable through a number of resources. The list below provides links to sustainable products identified by Practice Greenhealth, Health Care Without Harm, and labels and certifications specific to the health care sector.
These labels are only a sample of reputable third-party standards and certifications covering single or multiple attributes. Certifications for a single attribute verify one criterion, such as energy… Read More
Type: Resources
The COVID-19 pandemic upended health care and continues to have lasting impacts on the way we deliver care. It brought significant shifts in hospital operations, from shutting down elective surgeries and vastly reducing food service operations to dealing with monumental supply chain challenges and a rapid transition to telehealth.
Sustainability leaders at Practice Greenhealth partner hospitals remained committed to maintaining sustainable practices where possible and lending sustainability expertise to emerging challenges.
As the only organization collecting comprehensive sustainability… Read More
Type: Resources
Each year, Practice Greenhealth collects and compiles comprehensive sustainability data from hospitals that report through the Environmental Excellence Awards. Practice Greenhealth is then able to provide the sector’s best performance benchmarking data to hospitals and health systems working to build environmental stewardship into their mission.
Sustainability initiatives can add value, reduce negative health and environmental impacts, and save critical health care dollars – substantiated by the environmental performance data coming out of health care. The 331 hospitals that contributed… Read More
Type: Resources
Background
Data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration illustrates that buildings are responsible for almost half of the energy consumed and 38 percent of all GHG emissions in the United States. According to the EPA, inpatient health care ranks as the second largest commercial energy user after the food service industry. The US Department of Energy notes that hospital energy costs rose 56 percent from $3.89 per square foot in 2003 to $6.07 per square foot in 2008, and predicts those costs will continue to rise in the near term[i]. Hospitals are also often the largest water users in… Read More
Type: Resources
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.