We’ve guided hospitals to work with third-party reprocessors to purchase medical devices and reduce the waste of a single-use device. Hospitals have reported savings of over $6,000 per operating room. HVAC setback – a simple strategy to help save utility costs by reducing how often your heating and cooling system operates – can save approximately $2,500 per operating room.

Sustainable practices across the hospital or system can have even greater impacts. In terms of employee engagement and retention, it costs a lot to recruit and train new employees. Health care organizations can attract and retain employees by having a solid mission and strategy that addresses sustainability and corporate social responsibility.

HCB News: Is there anything else fundamental to a conversation about sustainability in healthcare that we haven't talked about?
SR: You could talk to any of my colleagues, and they could speak for hours about this topic and the challenges we have to face together. A conversation about social determinants of health is crucial and directly related to the hospital's role as an anchor institution.

Health care is at the epicenter of climate disasters, pandemics, and other public health emergencies, which individually and collectively have a disproportionate impact on people of color and reveal significant health and socioeconomic disparities within our communities.

We envision health organizations building physical, social, and economic conditions to support community health and well-being. We envision harnessing the enormous economic power and influence of the health care sector to move beyond emergency care toward healing the harm that exists today in the form of ecological degradation, health vulnerabilities, and economic disparities.

Improving access to care, economic stability, food insecurity, education, and safety in the communities health care serves is a fundamental component of sustainability strategy.

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