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A Practice Greenhealth Case Study
“Organics recycling and food waste diversion remain very important to us, and we are slowly but surely working to expand both the number of facilities with organics recycling and the types of materials that can be recycled.” – Allison Egan, HealthPartners Sustainability Consultant
HealthPartners wanted to reduce sending organic waste to the landfill. They hoped to reduce their climate impact, lower their taxes, and recycle the nutrients found in food waste.
The health system partnered with a farmer, a commercial composter, and a community garden and… Read More
Type: Resources
The Emerging Physician Leader Award, established by the Health Care Without Harm Physician Network in 2018, recognizes medical students, residents, and fellows who have demonstrated a passion for sustainable health care or a commitment to climate and health leadership. Awardees receive complimentary registration to CleanMed 2022 and a grant to support a project that aligns with the goals of the Physician Network.
This year, four of our Emerging Physician Leaders were selected as inaugural fellows for the new Blair and Georgia Sadler Fellowship at Health Care Without Harm, which was created… Read More
Type: Press
Reducing water consumption is a great place for hospitals and health systems to start improving their environmental impact and sustainability practices. There are many reasons water is and should be an area of focus:
Hospitals use approximately 7% of all water use in commercial and institutional U.S. facilities, which is costly when the price of water has slowly been rising over the last decade.
By 2030, it’s estimated that global water supply will only be able to meet 60 percent of our population’s needs.
Though hospitals are often exempted from water conservation regulations in times… Read More
Type: Basic page
On a recent winter morning, Michael J. Fiore CIH, CSP, director of Environmental Occupational Health and Safety/Sustainability at NorthShore University HealthSystem, sat down with Hermine Levey Weston for a conversation about the value of the Environmental Excellence Awards in advancing their sustainability goals.
[Hermine] NorthShore University HealthSystem’s past successes include an Emerald and a Top 25 Hospital award. Why do you make the Environmental Excellence Award application a priority for your program?
[Mike] This is a great question and extremely appropriate as I think about how… Read More
Type: Press
Reducing energy waste and procuring renewable energy are some of the most effective steps that our member hospitals are taking to reduce their environmental impact and protect community health. There are many reasons energy should be an area of focus:
Inpatient health care is ranked by EPA as the second-largest commercial energy user in the United States.
Health care facilities consume close to 10% of the total energy used in U.S. commercial buildings and spend more than $8 billion on energy every year.
The health care sector is responsible for 8.5% of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions.
The… Read More
Type: Basic page
“Not only does this project impact greenhouse gasses from keeping food waste out of the landfill, it is also about dollars saved, which is important to hospital administrators, and then there is the food rescue piece which is what is really important to our community.”
– Jack Breezee, Sutter Health regional director of food and nutrition services
Sutter Health knew they were wasting food but didn’t know how much. They wanted to find a way to reduce food waste – and knew they could help their community at the same time.
Sutter Health partnered with our sustainability experts to… Read More
Type: Resources
[Plant-Forward Future] Diets that embrace plant-based proteins are trending for both health and environmental reasons. One in four consumers is eating less meat and roughly half of younger consumers and one-third of older people already regularly choose plant-based foods instead of meat. In the National Restaurant Association’s 2020 “What’s Hot” survey, plant-based proteins landed at number 2 in its top ten list, and according to the association’s forecast in the Restaurant Industry 2030 report, it is expected that plant-based proteins will continue to grow in popularity over the next decade… Read More
Type: Basic page
Food service departments across the country are influencing their supply chain by channeling human health values into their purchasing choices. Yet, the impact does not end at the point of purchase. When these products are tracked with intention, teasing out which are sourced locally and which are produced with verifiable environmentally and socially preferred practices, it reveals the sweet spot, the crossover where a product carries both attributes simultaneously.
Identifying and accurately tracking these crossover products allows hospitals to use their purchasing power to most effectively… Read More
Type: Press
Greenhealth pushes sustainable products, services to the forefront of contract availability
http://www.hpnonline.com/inside/2016-09/1609-SF-sustainability.html
by Rick Dana Barlow
When it comes to progressing toward and implementing environmentally responsible contracting and purchasing of sustainable products and services, a small percentage of forward-thinking "green"-minded healthcare organizations have been making some waves.
Through their individual philosophies and projects, they have been carrying the flag for sustainability in healthcare, which they promote as fitting hand-in-… Read More
Type: Press
Increased awareness around the presence of pharmaceuticals in drinking water has resulted in closer scrutiny and increased regulatory oversight of pharmaceutical waste. Evidence of feminization of fish raised a red flag and resulted in more studies, closer scrutiny, and concern for human health and the environment. The U.S. Geological Survey has done extensive work to characterize the kinds and volumes of pharmaceuticals ending up in waterways. Learn more at U.S. Geological Survey's Emerging Contaminants Project.
While hazardous pharmaceutical waste management is a headline news item at… Read More
Type: Resources
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