At a minimum, health care organizations should collect and analyze data on their water, waste, and carbon footprints to establish their baselines. Practice Greenhealth’s data collection platform can assist with this process. We’re here to help hospitals and health systems get the right information to make the best decisions about sustainability program strategy and success, which leads to improved decision-making and focused efforts.

HCB News: What do you tell people who say they cannot afford to prioritize sustainability due to budget constraints?
SR: It sounds cliche, but health care organizations really can’t afford not to prioritize sustainability. In many cases, sustainable operations and choices breed efficiency and cost savings.
From a values standpoint, hospitals produce a significant amount of waste, which goes to the landfill. They are expected to operate 24/7, so their energy footprint is consequential. It’s critical for health care organizations to clean up their own systems and fulfill their mission to heal by addressing the social and environmental conditions making their patients sick in the first place.

We’ve seen survey findings from Deloitte showing Gen Z and millennials are actively working to address the climate crisis and have the desire to work for companies that share their values of prioritizing sustainability and climate health. It’s important from a talent management perspective for hospitals to prioritize this work and be transparent about their efforts.

HCB News: How does Practice Greenhealth help providers in their mission to go green?
SR: Practice Greenhealth draws on years of lived experience along with staff and partner expertise to help educate, guide, and inspire health care organizations to plug into this work and actively engage. Everything we do is strategically designed to strengthen, accelerate, and transform an organization’s sustainability work – and it’s prioritized in different impact areas.

Our network of nearly 1,600 hospitals has been a strong component of our expert guidance. They are finding solutions, overcoming challenges, and sharing their expertise at events such as our CleanMed conference, taking place this May in Pittsburgh, and our other virtual offerings like webinars and cohorts.

HCB News: Can you name some examples where a sustainable approach correlates directly with lower costs?
SR: I’ll preface these examples by saying that not all cost-savings strategies are felt equally, and some may have a longer payback period.

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