Search Results
Displaying results 1271 - 1280 of 1321
Polyvinyl chloride (PVC) is a problematic plastic because it requires additives such as plasticizers like diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), among others, and generates chemicals of concern throughout its life cycle – from manufacture, through use and disposal – resulting in potentially hazardous exposures to those chemicals in the workplace, in communities, and in some patients.
We have worked with hospital and health system members to identify high-priority product categories as defined by life cycle impacts, the potential for the release of toxic chemicals into the environment, exposures to… Read More
Type: Resources
Hospitals produce more than 5 million tons of waste each year – and a vast portion of it comes from single-use plastics. Kaiser Permanente recognized this challenge as an opportunity to leverage its purchasing power and influence its suppliers to collaborate on a packaging redesign to reduce waste and save money.
Discover how
Type: Press
The Greenhealth Approved seal was developed to make identifying sustainable products easier for health care product purchasers. ShawContract and Patcraft now have the Greenhealth Approved seal for their EcoWorx resilient flooring. Products that carry the seal have been found to meet the sustainability criteria established by Health Care Without Harm and Practice Greenhealth.
Learn 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
Here you will find guidance, resources, tools, and ways to engage with your peers and other stakeholders across the value chain to support your food journey and help achieve your organization’s priorities and goals.
The way our food is produced, processed, transported, consumed, and disposed of has profound impacts on individual, community, and planetary health. Hospitals and health systems across the country are achieving their organizational priorities by focusing on food-related initiatives.
Make the case
Core values for a better food system
These values underpin the goals… Read More
Type: Basic page
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
Hospitals are environments for healing but many of the products and materials that come into a hospital may be harmful to patients, staff and those in the community. Some products used in health care may contain or release (during production, use or disposal) carcinogens, reproductive toxins, or other hazardous materials. Many of the chemicals used in products have not been adequately tested for toxicity. Additionally, there are a growing number of disposable products in health care and large amounts of packaging creating significant waste, and a variety of products that are energy or water-… Read More
Type: Basic page
Operating rooms can drive big facilities’ cost savings and efficiency improvements through smart, incremental, sustainable practices. Even more important, it’s possible to make these changes while not only maintaining quality patient care but also supporting staff and environmental health.
Though a tiny percentage of a hospital’s total physical footprint, operating rooms have a huge impact on hospital budgets. Operating rooms, on average:
Drive up to 60% of a hospital’s revenue
Are responsible for 40 to 60% of the organization’s total supply costs
Produce more than 30% of a facility’s… Read More
Type: Basic page
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
Waste is a common challenge for health care organizations, no matter their size. Waste is complex and expensive to manage. Hospitals produce more than 5 million tons of waste each year.
Hospitals generate over 29 pounds of waste per bed per day. A waste plan is critical for any sustainability programming.
Every hospital is challenged by the complexity of health care waste and limited recycling and management options. Recycling isn’t enough. Member hospitals who look upstream by studying incoming material and then reduce both inputs and outputs together see greater reductions in total… 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 1,500 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.