Tools and resources

Suggested Environmental Considerations for Disposable Food Ware

• Sustainable food service operations

The suggested environmental disclosure questions may be used in your RFI/RFP to help inform your purchasing decisions. These questions can be applied to cutlery; plates, bowls and cups (for hot and cold applications); take-out packaging (such as clamshells, boxes or containers with separate lids); and ancillary items such as lids, and straws). These questions would not pertain to other food…

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Data 101 webinar series

• Webinar
• Data
• Awards
• Greenhealth Academy

The Practice Greenhealth Environmental Excellence Awards is more than an awards program – it’s an opportunity to capture data on environmental quality improvement progress within hospitals and health systems.  Data is power. It has the power to demonstrate a return on investment. It has the power to implement positive change. When submitted through Practice Greenhealth’s Environmental Excellence…

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Hackensack University Medical Center: Better meat case study

• Hackensack University Medical Center
• Case Study
• Local and sustainable purchasing
• Food

Hackensack University Medical Center’s annual food and beverage budget is $5 million with an estimated $1.5 million spend on meat and poultry. They serve more than 2.8 million meals annually. In only 18 months, Hackensack University Medical Center now leads the country in achieving a 98 percent benchmark of meat and poultry raised without routine antibiotics. Leadership is driving change through…

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Antibiotic stewardship toolkit: Passing food purchasing resolutions

• Food
• Food and Beverage Purchasing

(Health Care Without Harm) Across the country, health professionals are developing resolutions calling for an end to the procurement of meat produced with the routine (non-therapeutic) use of medically important antibiotics, to preserve the efficacy of these drugs for human medicine. Health Care Without Harm has developed a toolkit of helpful resources for facilities. The toolkit includes a how-…

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Redefining protein: Purchasing considerations (Health Care Without Harm)

• Food
• Food and Beverage Purchasing
• Mitigation
• Purchasing

[Plant-Forward Future] Research reveals that certain dietary patterns have been noted to have the ideal composition for human health and reduced environmental impact. This guide offers procurement recommendations based on values of sustainability, nutrition, social, and animal welfare concerns. These considerations were generated based on findings detailed in "Redefining protein: Adjusting diets…

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Integrating sustainability requirements into health care food service contracting

• Food
• Food Service

(Health Care Without Harm) There are many opportunities for hospitals to improve patient safety, worker safety, and the overall health of communities and the environment via their food service operations. By implementing environmentally preferable purchasing and other operational and maintenance strategies in food service, hospitals can help to reduce patient, worker and community exposure to…

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Purchasing guide to sourcing food without genetically engineered ingredients

• Food
• Food and Beverage Purchasing
• Purchasing
• Sustainable procurement
• Sustainable food service operations
• Guide

Purchasers can take the following steps to source foods produced without the use of genetically engineered (GE) ingredients (also called “genetically modified” or “GMOs”).

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Composting: Frequently asked questions

• Waste
• Compost
• Composting
• food waste
• Frequently asked questions

What is composting? Compost is created from the decomposition of landscape and food wastes. In a finished product, it is a dark, crumbly and earthy-smelling material that appears similar to soil. Composting provides institutions with a method to dispose of a large portion of these waste streams in a way that benefits their bottom line and the environment. By composting, an institution avoids…

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Health and economic benefits from hospital investment in a sustainable food system

• Food
• Food System
• White Paper
• Guide

The support of health care administrators is needed to link the healing mission of hospitals to the purchasing and serving of sustainably produced food that is healthy for patients, staff, and guests. These purchasing patterns will help to transform the food system at large into a system that supports human health, environmental stewardship, and social justice for farm workers The current food…

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Circles of Excellence Honorees

• Awards

The Circle of Excellence Awards celebrate hospitals who have not only earned an award for all-around sustainability achievement, but who have also been identified as the top scoring programs for each category of sustainability. LEADERSHIP CIRCLE It all starts with leadership. The Leadership Circle represents the high-performing hospitals that have a strong infrastructure supporting a long term…

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