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The Coolfood Pledge is a new platform to help hospitals offer diners more of what they want while slashing food-related greenhouse gas emissions, saving costs, and improving health.
The pledge is a cross-sector initiative championed by the World Resources Institute with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions from food purchasing by 25% by 2030. Practice Greenhealth supports the health care sector in meeting the goal. Health care is showing leadership with over 120 hospitals pledging, representing over 100 million (combined) meals annually.
The Coolfood Pledge is a free benefit… Read More
Type: Basic page
Natalie Baker is a medical student at Harvard Medical School (HMS). Born and raised in Northern California, she completed her undergraduate education at Stanford University, where she witnessed the devastating health impacts of wildfire and heat on Bay Area communities and began organizing around climate change and health equity. During medical school, Baker has taken on numerous leadership roles in climate and health advocacy, including spearheading the development of a four-year longitudinal, competency-based climate change, environmental, and health curriculum at HMS and serving as… Read More
Type: Staff
Many hospitals and health systems face transportation challenges, including:
Existing parking structures for employees and visitors are at maximum capacity and costly expansions aren’t feasible.
Idling ambulances and delivery trucks are wasting fuel, increasing hospital fuel costs and the overhead costs for supplies.
Excess emissions from idling vehicles and employee single-vehicle commuters flow into the surrounding environment, where employees, visitors, neighbors, and patients breathe them in – a huge health concern, as vehicle emissions contain particulates linked to lung damage,… Read More
Type: Basic page
The surgery department is sometimes referred to as the soul or epicenter of a hospital for a number of reasons: It can bring in up to 60% of a facility’s revenue, and the reputation of the operating room is often tied directly to the reputation of the hospital.
At the same time, a typical OR can make up half of a hospital’s aggregate costs, produce 33% of a facility’s waste, consume more energy per square foot than any other area of the hospital, and anesthetic gases alone make up around 5% of an organization’s greenhouse gas footprint.
All of this boils down to a department rich in… Read More
Type: Press
Details health care sustainability trends across key areas: green purchasing, safer chemicals, climate change mitigation, energy and waste reduction, local and sustainable food
Washington, DC – Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading nonprofit membership and networking organization for sustainable health care, released today its eighth annual Sustainability Benchmark Report. The report analyzes data from leading hospitals and health systems across the country, giving a snapshot of trends in environmental performance and sustainability in energy, water, toxics, food and other categories.… Read More
Type: Press
A large portion of surgical waste is liquid waste — blood and body fluids diverted during surgery. This waste stream is typically collected in disposable plastic suction canisters. Hospitals are finding that another option—fluid management systems that empty liquids directly to the sanitary sewer—are safer for staff, better for the environment and offer long-term cost-savings.
Type: Resources
Here are suggested environmental considerations for the RFI/RFP process for medical instrument cleaners. Instrument cleaners and enzymatics are designed to decrease manual handling and scrubbing of medical devices and instruments. The products are especially effective in the removal of blood, proteins and organic matter form medical devices and instruments.
Type: Resources
A 2020 Boston Consulting Group (BCG) survey of more than 3,000 people across eight countries has found that in the wake of the pandemic, people are now more concerned – not less – about addressing environmental challenges and are more committed to changing their own behavior to advance sustainability.
These survey results clearly translate to health care.
Implementing sustainability initiatives and climate-smart strategies in health care facilities is challenging work, as those who are leading or involved in these efforts know first-hand. However, we know this work gets a little easier when… Read More
Type: Press
“By working collaboratively, it is possible to drive innovative solutions to reduce the environmental footprint of health care, while also reducing costs for both suppliers and purchasers.”
– Elizabeth Eldridge, Kaiser Permanente director of sustainable sourcing
KEY TAKEAWAYS
Hospitals and health care facilities generate a staggering amount of plastic waste each year resulting in equally large disposal costs and environmental impacts.
Kaiser Permanente’s environmental services and waste management teams discovered a waste and plastic reduction solution for disinfectant… Read More
Type: Basic page
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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.