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“I don’t sell plant-based, I sell delicious looking and tasting food that just happens to be plant-based." - Dan Henroid, University of California San Francisco Medical Center
The University of California San Francisco Medical Center is a signatory of the Cool Food Pledge, a new platform to help hospitals offer diners more of what they want while slashing food-related greenhouse gas emissions.
UC San Francisco is one of 64 signatories from health care.
Here are some thoughts from Dan Henroid, UC San Francisco's director of nutrition and food services:
Why have you focused on… Read More
Type: Resources
Hospitals and health systems around the world are investing in clean, renewable energy to protect the health of their patients and communities, attract and retain top-tier talent, increase the resilience of their operations to disasters, and reduce energy costs and price volatility. Combining renewable energy with electricity storage can help hospitals remain operational during extreme weather or other disruptions to the electric grid.
According to the EPA, renewable energy includes resources that rely on fuel sources that restore themselves over short periods of time and do not diminish.… 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
Here are two sample news stories as well as a brief description for each of Practice Greenhealth’s Environmental Excellence Awards. Feel free to use some or all of this content as you promote your win internally and externally. You can find additional resources, including award logos, on our website. If you have questions, please reach out to press@practicegreenhealth.org.
Sample news story 1
<Hospital name> recognized for its leadership on environmental sustainability
A focus on more sustainable operations supports healthier patients, staff, and communities
In recognition for its… Read More
Type: Resources
A total cost of ownership and Sustainable Health in Procurement Project case study
Name of facility, location
Mayo Clinic
Rochester, Minnesota
Highlights
The Mayo Clinic had a fleet of over 1,000 lab freezers that use as much energy as about 1,000 homes.
They standardized purchasing practices for their fleet of ultra-cold lab freezers to buy more energy-efficient models.
By selecting the most energy-efficient model, rather than the lowest price, they will achieve a 60% energy-use reduction and long-term savings of more than $6 million over 10 years.
Ultra-cold laboratory freezers… Read More
Type: Resources
Each year, Practice Greenhealth collects and reviews comprehensive sustainability data from hospitals that report through the Environmental Excellence Awards. We utilize this data to provide the sector’s best sustainability performance benchmarking data to hospitals and health systems working to build environmental stewardship into their mission, and to the greater health care supply chain partners that are integral to this work. This is the twelfth report in a series stretching back to 2009. This report lays out sustainability performance data for 2020.
The COVID-19 pandemic brought unique… Read More
Type: Resources
The health care industry is the only sector with health as its core mission. Open 24/7 and buzzing with high-tech, life-saving equipment, hospitals are incredibly energy-intensive facilities, consuming roughly 2.5 times more energy per square foot than a typical commercial office space.
While being used to save lives and improve patient health, this energy is often generated by the combustion of fossil fuels that contribute to pollution, disease, and climate change, which leads to numerous damaging health effects.
Globally, outdoor air pollution kills more than 4.5 million people each year… Read More
Type: Resources
For hospitals unable to access any of the recommended certifications for a valued workforce, Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth have created a list of questions to ask food suppliers. Although these questions are most appropriate for direct purchases, we encourage you to consider how they might apply to distributors and other intermediaries.
Learn more about ethical food purchasing and health care's role in protecting workers
General
How do you incorporate the concerns of your farmworkers into your practices and policies?
What steps are you currently building into your… Read More
Type: Resources
Practice Greenhealth’s Healthy Interiors goal promotes public and environmental health and helps accelerate the transformation of the furnishings market to safer products.
What is Practice Greenhealth’s Healthy Interiors goal?
Ensure that 30% of the annual volume of furnishings and furniture purchases (based on cost) eliminate the use of formaldehyde, perfluorinated compounds, polyvinyl chloride (PVC), antimicrobials*, and all flame retardants**.
When chemical flame retardants are necessary to meet code requirements, use chemicals that meet GreenScreen Benchmark 3 or 4 or… 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.