Stanford Health Care Receives Sustainable Healthcare Certification from Joint Commission

Stanford Health Care has received a Sustainable Healthcare certification from the Joint Commission, one of the first systems in the country to achieve the honor.

The Sustainable Healthcare certificate is meant to “recognize organizations that have demonstrated progress in reducing emissions that contribute to climate change.” Healthcare accounts for 8.5% of the United States’ total emissions. Hospitals “also consume tremendous amounts of energy, and health care ranks near the top for waste generation, at 5.9 million tons annually.”

Stanford Health Care’s Sustainability Program Office has established goals to reduce “energy use in buildings by 25% by 2030,” divert “90% of waste sent to landfills through recycling, composting, reusing or limiting waste by 2030,” reduce “greenhouse gas emissions by 50% by 2030,” and eliminate “90% of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.””

Two medical directors of sustainability were established at Stanford Health Care in 2023. Paige Fox, MD, PhD, is “working on reducing waste of unused medical supplies,” and Praveen Kalra, MD, is “championing the change from centrally piped nitrous oxide to portable cylinders, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions related to nitrous oxide by 90%.”