According to a Sept. 9 news release, Joint Commission International (JCI), in collaboration with the International Hospital Federation’s Geneva Sustainability Centre (GSC), announced a new international Healthcare Sustainability Certification (HSC).
The news release says that “The healthcare sector contributes nearly 5.2% of global greenhouse gas emissions while facing increasing health impacts from climate change, according to a 2022 report of the Lancet Countdown.”
Further, “The HSC program, effective 1 January 2025, is available to healthcare organizations outside the United States and its territories that are accelerating their sustainable practices and seeking formal recognition. For the first time, this certification is available to any institution whether JCI accredited or not. The certification provides a framework to help healthcare leaders initiate sustainability priorities and develop a formal governance structure to gain successful results.”
The certification process includes GSC’s Sustainability Accelerator Tool (SAT), a digital platform that aims to allow healthcare organizations to assess their performance with “core indicators and benchmark against comparable healthcare organizations worldwide.”
Additionally, the SAT can provide insights on how healthcare organizations can improve their sustainability strategies and processes, as well as offering a framework to guide decision-making dialogues with executives.
