Environmental Sustainability: The Urgent Rush to Keep Emissions Down in Healthcare
Climate change is continuing unabated, and its effects are being felt with greater urgency with each passing year.
According to a new study that the Associated Press reported on recently, glaciers are shrinking at a rate nearly twice as fast as they were in the early 2000s. A record 604 billion tons of ice were lost from glaciers in 2023. A scientist who wasn’t part of the study stated that “glaciers are apolitical and unbiased sentinels of climate change, and their decline paints a clear picture of accelerated warming.” The melting of glaciers plays a massive role in sea level rise, and the trends are currently moving in the wrong direction.
The threat climate change poses is not merely theoretical, either. Analysis from World Weather Attribution and Climate Central researchers in 2024 found that people suffered an average of 41 extra days of dangerous heat that year, leading to the deaths of at least 3,700 people. Globally, the summer of 2024 was the hottest one on record, endangering people around the world, including (and especially) those people in the poorest and least developed countries. Scientists expect Earth to soon go past the threshold the Paris Agreement set of 1.5 degrees Celsius of warming.
Now, in 2025, President Donald Trump’s administration is attempting to rewrite a key finding that planet-warming greenhouse gases endanger the public. New Environmental Protection Agency chief Lee Zeldin is pushing against a 2009 decision by the agency that justifies and applies regulations on heat-trapping emissions of greenhouse gases from the burning of coal, oil, and natural gas. More studies and research have only proven the decision correct, as more evidence of harm continues to pile up.
The healthcare industry plays a significant role in greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. The Lancet reviewed hundreds of publications that included a definition or description of environmentally sustainable healthcare in an attempt to “encourage standardization across sustainability efforts.” Several impact categories cropped up as particular points of emphasis for health systems describing sustainability efforts – among them include “greenhouse gases,” “solid waste,” “energy use,” “water use,” and “air pollution.” Overall, however, there was a great amount of diversity in how health systems defined environmentally sustainable healthcare. Plus, general definitions of sustainability, which many use as benchmarks in their definitions, are not particularly specific.
The review also found a specific emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions, which may lead to some organizations narrowing in on one specific element of sustainability and neglecting other areas. Some consensus did emerge around greenhouse gas, waste, and energy use categories, which is promising. The authors of the study suggest that certain measures be taken to harmonize sustainability efforts, like meetings of expert panels and empirical analyses. Heterogeneity in measurements of environmental sustainability can make things more complicated.
Important work is being done to enhance sustainability efforts in health systems around the U.S. Healthcare Purchasing News spoke with Kumbia Lewis, MBA, CMRP, CVAHP, LSSBB, PMP, FACHE, director of Hospital Distribution, Supply Chain Management at Texas Children’s Hospital in Houston, Texas; and Jesse Stanton, MBA-HM, CMRP, vice president of Supply Chain at Parkview Health, headquartered in Fort Wayne, Indiana; about measures their organizations are taking to become yet more environmentally sustainable.
What sustainability measures have your organization adopted that have been particularly successful?
Stanton: Over the years, Parkview has made sustainability a focus. A team was established to gather current state sustainability efforts and data. We have partnered with Practice Greenhealth [an organization that delivers environmental solutions to hospitals] for benchmarking and resources across a number of sustainability categories. Our sustainability efforts stretch across multiple areas throughout our health system, from the collection of one-time surgical instruments for repurposing and landfill avoidance to employing energy efficiency strategies throughout our facilities, reducing food waste, and utilizing local and sustainable vendors. We even include language in our contracts outlining our sustainability stance and track vendors based on sustainable ratings.
Lewis: Our organization has an executive-level committee that is focused on decreasing our carbon emissions and creating a sustainable work environment. The committee is working through 7 pillars —Chemical & Waste; Greening the OR; Food; Sustainable Procurement; Climate, Water, & Energy; Green Building; and Transportation—that will lead to a 50% reduction by 2023.
Mike Brown, VP of Supply Chain, heads the Sustainable Procurement initiatives. Some of the sustainability initiatives include reprocessing of eligible medical supplies, conservation of energy, and food waste composition.
What is the biggest challenge when it comes to creating an environmentally friendly workplace?
Stanton: The biggest challenge in creating an environmentally friendly workplace is economies of scale. It is easier to deploy these efforts in smaller provider offices that were environmentally consciously constructed. However, applying those principles across a dozen hospitals of varying ages is challenging. That is why we tackle each workspace individually, recognizing these challenges and applying unique strategies to ensure that we meet the needs of patients, guests, and co-workers while striving to be environmentally friendly.
Lewis: Creating an environmentally friendly workplace comes with many challenges that can impact the organization’s finances, operations, employee engagement, and strategic plans. Years ago, I would have quickly said that employee engagement was the biggest challenge to creating an environmentally friendly workplace due to deployment strategy, lack of communication, and employee buy-in. Today, the challenge that we are facing is contractual agreements. Some of our contracts make adhering to or participating in supply sustainability efforts more difficult. Our Strategic Sourcing team is aggressively focusing on ensuring that our future agreements do not reduce our ability to drive more sustainable supplies in our organization.
Did COVID present any unique challenges with sustainability? Did it lead to any new innovations?
Stanton: One unique challenge that COVID presented for sustainability was the large increase in the use of disposable isolation gowns. This led to an increased need for space to store these bulky items and an increase in waste because they are single-use. Early on, we pivoted to using reusable gowns that were initially produced by a local recreational vehicle plant, repurposing materials that were meant for this industry but were not being used during COVID to manufacture isolation gowns. This innovative approach served not only our health system but also supported local business.
Lewis: We were all faced with determining and understanding how to keep serving our communities. There was a huge disruption in the supply flow of medical supplies. We had to be innovative and focus on conservation of supplies. We examined our caseload, reducing it to only necessary cases, eliminating elective cases. Stricter control around PPE and Appropriate Use Guidelines were created and implemented, and these guidelines are still in use today.
Now that COVID is on the downswing compared to the first couple of years of the pandemic, what lessons can be learned about pandemic response and environmental sustainability?
Stanton: Lessons learned from COVID regarding environmental sustainability focused on diversifying our procurement practices. This has led to purchasing more from local and onshore sustainable vendors than ever before. With ongoing supply chain disruptions, we have also pivoted to evaluating and using more reprocessed products. This way, we not only reduce waste but also control our pipeline of products.
Lewis: Learning from the past is necessary; the first lesson we take away is that there will be another pandemic, a health, financial, or natural crisis. When we think about pandemic response and environmental sustainability, we have to move quicker and plan ahead as an organization. How will we respond when vendors restrict our orders, gouge prices, or lack essential supplies? Are we looking for reusable supplies? Are we considering increasing our stockpile? Ask yourself: are we ready?
Do you have any particular concerns for the future?
Stanton: Even though we have changed some of our practices, resiliency, inflation, and unknown regulatory challenges threaten ongoing sustainability efforts. Additionally, the need to balance cost-effectiveness with sustainable choices and the evolving landscape of environmental regulations requires continuous adaptation and innovation. Despite these challenges, our commitment to sustainability remains steadfast as we seek new solutions and partnerships to overcome these obstacles.
Lewis: There are efforts around environmental sustainability in healthcare. More discussion should occur around the needs and benefits of hospitals adopting environmentally friendly policies. We must examine our equipment, processes, transportation, waste, greenhouse gas emissions, and investments.
Another concern is supply variabilities. Our VP of Supply Chain is committed to creating longer term agreements with vendors and suppliers, accelerating the move to more 5–7-year contracts. The belief is that this will aid in the reduction of supply variabilities.
One final concern is the stability of the recycling industry. Do we understand the long-term environmental plan and capability from a State and Federal level? Will our initiatives be supported from a state perspective? There are no guarantees.
Are there any advancements in the space you are working on or aware of that you’d like to spotlight?
Lewis: Our sustainability team has been in place since 2023, and Texas Children's Hospital has signed the HHS pledge to reduce organizational emissions by 50% by 2030.
Matt MacKenzie | Associate Editor
Matt is Associate Editor for Healthcare Purchasing News.
