Search Results
Displaying results 381 - 390 of 430
In a February feature story, PBS NewsHour covered Health Care Without Harm’s mission to reduce the environmental footprint of the health care sector, along with the cutting edge sustainability initiatives of Practice Greenhealth members Cleveland Clinic, Gundersen Health System, and Mayo Clinic.
The article shines a spotlight on Health Care Without Harm’s beginnings over 20 years ago when the Environmental Protection Agency released a report that found that incinerators used by many hospitals throughout the United States were a top of emitter of harmful air pollutants, including mercury and… Read More
Type: Press
Reducing surplus food is at the top of the EPA food recovery hierarchy because it has the greatest financial, environmental, and social impacts.
Use our guidance to determine which source reduction strategies will work best for your facility and how to integrate them into your standard operating policies and procedures. Track your impact, and share results with leadership.
Assemble the team
In addition to your core team, you may want to include people with roles such as the executive chef, nutrition and dietetics, inventory manager, prep, line cooks, catering, and front of house servers… Read More
Type: Basic page
The Stephanie Davis Waste Reduction and Pollution Prevention Award and Scholarship is an enduring tribute to Davis, who worked with Health Care Without Harm at its inception in 1996. Davis was a tireless champion of the movement toward sustainable health care who worked to reduce waste and eliminate the use of harmful chemicals and materials in health care products and processes. The awardees will receive scholarships to attend CleanMed 2022.
Join us in celebrating this year’s five awardees.
David Blitzer
“I am so humbled and excited to be receiving this award. I have a strong personal… Read More
Type: Press
Health care institutions throughout the country recognize the urgent need to reduce rates of obesity and chronic illness as well as their associated health care costs.
Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) contribute to the increased prevalence of obesity and associated chronic diseases that go along with weight gain. The production, consumption, and waste associated with sugar-sweetened and bottled beverages have numerous negative environmental consequences.
A better option for hydration and quenching thirst is water and in the United States, tap water has been proven to be just as safe, or… Read More
Type: Basic page
Rethinking Environmentally Preferred Purchasing: A Case Study in Implementation at Kaiser Permanente
By Vanessa Lochner, Kaiser Permanente's director for the Environmentally Preferred Purchasing program
Achieving an environmentally preferable purchasing program is simpler than many people realize. From the start, it’s important to determine the desired results.
At Kaiser Permanente, our decision to pursue a more rigorous EPP program was motivated by five environmental priorities: cleaner energy, safer chemicals, less waste, healthier and more sustainable food and water conservation. We’ve achieved multiple successes over the past several years. The EPP program delivers over $63 million… Read More
Type: Press
Moyle, Julie K. MSN, RN; Lynn, Cecilia DeLoach MBA, LEED AP
Author Information
Julie K. Moyle is the Founder of 1x1 Consulting and a Staff Nurse at Avista Surgery Center, Boulder, Colo. Cecilia DeLoach Lynn is the Director of Facility Engagement & Metrics at Practice Greenhealth, Reston, Va.
This article is based in part on a presentation given at the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) 2013 Congress, March 4, 2013 in San Diego, Calif. The authors wish to recognize contributing partners Debra J. Savage, MSN, RN, CNOR, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center East, Liisa J… Read More
Type: Press
Please visit our Guidance for health systems: Setting a net-zero emission goal page for more information.
Why are we changing our goal from carbon neutrality to net zero?
Climate science shows us there is an urgent need to substantially reduce emissions in the near future and offsets are not sufficient to meet that goal. To limit warming to 1.5°C (2.7°F), organizations need to focus on decarbonization so we can reduce global greenhouse gas emissions by half by 2030 and reach zero emissions by 2050. Carbon neutrality is defined by PAS 2060, the internationally recognized specification. PAS… Read More
Type: Basic page
Chef Michael White is a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America and has been a chef with Sodexo for more than 15 years. White cooks for Regions Hospital in Minnesota.
The Health Care Culinary Contest is back, and chefs across the country are getting ready to compete.
In 2017, U.S. health care food service professionals submitted their best delicious and healthy recipes. Entrants embodied the less meat, better meat philosophy, highlighted local and sustainable sourcing stories, and engaged clinician sponsors to source and serve a meal that is healthy for people and the planet.
For… Read More
Type: Press
Dignity Health supply chain and sustainability staff worked collaboratively with Staples, their office supply distributor, to improve the use of more sustainable office supplies throughout their network. The results of this initiative that began in late 2016 have shown both an increase in “sustainable spend” and 5 to 7 percent savings in the category of office supplies.
“Our purchasing decisions not only contribute to our cost and quality goals but connect us to our core values – especially that of stewardship – cultivating the resources entrusted to us to promote healing, which is at the… Read More
Type: Press
The Health Care Emissions Impact Calculator is an accounting tool specifically designed to help health care organizations measure their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. The calculator can be used to develop a GHG inventory at the facility and/or system level for all Scope 1, 2, and 3 emissions.
The calculator helps U.S. health care organizations take a critical step on the path to emissions measurement, reporting, and reduction efforts. It is the first free, publicly available tool of its kind for health care organizations. The calculator was developed following the GHG Protocol, the world’s… Read More
Type: Basic page
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 1,700 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.