Sustainable Healthcare Design

Sustainability in Healthcare

Climate change and Healthcare are inextricably linked, with rising global temperatures associated with everything from the spread of infectious diseases to the impact of dangerous weather events. Scientists have described this convergence as “the major threat of the 21st century” to human health.¹ 

Globally, healthcare facilities are significant contributors to greenhouse gas emissions and the consumption of natural resources, and there is a pressing need for the healthcare sector to take action.  

According to Carbon Brief, health-related activities account for over 4% of total global greenhouse gas emissions. That is more than either aviation or shipping.² 

It is now widely acknowledged that climate change will have devastating global consequences for human health, including in regions with the lowest greenhouse gas emissions. The healthcare sector is fully conscious of the critical need to transition to future-focused, environmentally responsible practices. Yet, despite this, it has been slower in that transition than other sectors. 

The healthcare sector desperately needs to build environmental quality criteria (i.e., LEED, WELL, Green Star) into new buildings, designing for energy and resource efficiencies. Transitioning healthcare facilities to sustainable practices can have a lasting impact in several areas. Facilities improve their public image, strengthen social trust by contributing to a healthier environment, reduce pollution, and save valuable community resources, such as water and energy. As an added benefit, transitioning to sustainable practices improves patient experiences by providing a better hospital environment and strengthening the facility's profile with eco-conscious patients.  

Conserving Resources 

The most obvious way to reduce the environmental footprint of a healthcare facility is to design sustainable facilities from the outset, prioritising the conservation of natural resources. Insulation, ventilation, heating, and lighting, as well as, where appropriate, selecting building materials that are recyclable and cradle-to-cradle certified, all present opportunities to optimise lifetime energy consumption in new builds.  

While there are many ways to optimise new healthcare buildings to be more environmentally sustainable from the outset, what about existing infrastructure?

Conduct Audits 

Before implementing any sustainability strategies, an energy audit of existing buildings should be undertaken to better understand where the greatest efficiencies can be achieved. Following this, several strategies can be implemented; these are most effective when applied as part of a holistic and multidisciplinary approach. 

Regulate and Reduce Waste 

It is estimated that 80% of hospital waste is unregulated.3 The vast majority of the products that healthcare facilities purchase end up as waste. Much of this is unregulated, general waste that ends up in landfills, while regulated medical and chemical waste makes up a much smaller share of waste material. A thorough analysis of material consumption and waste production is essential. Particular attention should be given to opportunities to reduce packaging, waste sorting initiatives, and the reduction of food waste. If actioned, these procedures will, of course, have a positive impact on the environment, but they also have the potential to lower waste handling and elimination costs. These two key actions are essential – reduce waste to save energy and save energy to reduce waste. By implementing a waste regulation protocol, healthcare facilities can greatly reduce their carbon footprint. 

 
Lower Energy Consumption  

A meaningful reduction in energy consumption can come from encouraging staff to use active modes of transport, like public transport or cycling, and wherever suitable, limiting professional travel in favour of remote solutions such as tele or video communications.

Improving water circuit management is a further opportunity for energy efficiency. According to Healthcare Without Harm, in 2007, the big American hospitals used approximately 133 billion gallons of water at an annual cost of approximately $615 million.³ 

Reduce (unnecessary) Patient Stays 

Another significant impact on a facility's ecological footprint is the length of patient hospital stays. By reducing unnecessary or unnecessarily long hospital stays, facilities have the dual benefit of reducing their carbon footprint while simultaneously keeping running costs down. While avoiding unnecessary stays is preferable for patients, it also frees up valuable resources and avoids the wasteful use of energy and consumables. Suggested areas of focus could include: wherever possible, favour at-home treatments. Reserve hospitalisation only for those patients in need of emergency care or who are suffering from a serious pathology. Utilise telemedicine to cut down on travel. Equip patients with therapeutic education to help them understand and manage their symptoms and the evolution of their treatment journey. Humanise end-of-life care, allowing terminally ill patients to return home. 

Influence Key Partners 

Lastly, healthcare facilities have a real influence over their suppliers and partners and have the opportunity to use this leverage to encourage climate-friendly practices. Opportunities for optimisation include recycling offcuts of materials like PVC and other hospital waste. Establish circular initiatives and select partners that can take, for example, PVCs that have been left over from disposable medical products and recycle them into quality recycled products. Medical and pharmaceutical products, as well as food products used for catering, both contribute significantly to a facility's carbon emissions. Working to establish eco-responsible purchase policies for these supply chains can have an indirect impact on the carbon footprint. This could include developing innovative logistic solutions that use less fossil fuel, regularly auditing medical supply chains for waste reduction opportunities, and, wherever possible, selecting reusable, recyclable, eco-certified, healthy materials that have a low carbon footprint when building or doing maintenance.

Developing a sustainable healthcare system depends upon taking a holistic, multidisciplinary approach, factoring in many or all of the above solutions. 

Material Selection 

At the material selection phase of designing new healthcare facilities, simply selecting materials that meet eco-friendly criteria isn’t enough. Materials that meet eco-criteria but degrade or wear down quickly need to be replaced more frequently, adding to the already considerable amount of waste that a healthcare facility must dispose of annually. It is essential that the materials selected are both fit for purpose, durable, and eco-friendly. When selecting building materials, consider the long-term return on investment, measuring material performance in terms of overall value and not just the upfront cost.