Located in the rural Garden Route District, George Hospital had to make a trip of 450 kilometres five times a week to transport infectious waste for processing to a Cape Town medical waste treatment plant. This was not only burdensome, but also generated a significant carbon footprint. The sharps waste also needed to be incinerated with a consequential environmental impact.
Faced with this problem, Michael Vonk, the George Hospital’s Chief Executive Officer, and his team decided to apply the Proximity Principle of Waste Management by procuring and installing medical waste treatment equipment on-site to deal with hospital infectious waste at the point of generation. The new equipment allowed for the mechanical destruction of the waste by using sterilising heat.
In addition to reducing the environmental cost of operations, this new treatment facility has allowed for the safe treatment of COVID-19 waste on-site rather than incinerating it as was previously the case.
Case studies
Health Care Without Harm and its strategic partners convened health care institutions from 17 countries around the world to share their stories of proven practices and step-by-step guidance for dramatically reducing greenhouse gasses while prioritizing patient care, health equity, and resilience.
February 21, 2024
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Case studies
Sebokeng Hospital’s implemented a series of actions, such as implementing a monitoring tool, the Environmental Hygiene Checklist, to assess the condition of cleaning equipment.
October 04, 2023
Purchasing
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Case studies
Aarhus University Hospital grapples with a significant plastic waste issue. To address this challenge, the hospital is working closely with suppliers, starting with irrigation fluid bottles, to establish standardized recycling practices and make healthcare plastic recycling more sustainable.
September 20, 2023
Chemicals
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Case studies
In 2020, as part of efforts to combat the spread of SARS-CoV-2, the Club Noel Children's Clinical Foundation embarked on a comprehensive review of the cleaning and disinfection supplies used in the hospital.
September 06, 2023
Leadership
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Case studies
Together with our partners around the world, Health Care Without Harm convened representatives from 98 health care organizations spanning 20 countries to share their learnings from implementing decarbonization and climate resilience initiatives.
August 30, 2023
Energy
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Case studies
Shefaa Al-Orman Oncology Hospital (SOH), a cancer treatment facility in Egypt, has successfully implemented a comprehensive sustainability strategy to improve energy efficiency, that led to a reduction in operating costs and in the environmental impact of their operations.
August 16, 2023
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Case studies
The hospital is a leader in implementing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) - reducing the use of hazardous pesticides by substituting more sustainable choices.
August 23, 2023
Case studies
In India, a comprehensive National Green Hospital Standard Accreditation was developed in collaboration with the Health & Leadership Platform & Quality Accreditation Institute (QAI).
August 09, 2023
Case studies
In Sweden, harmonising sustainability criteria amongst different public authorities is important to reduce administrative burden and give a clear signal to the market through specialised collaborative networks that share expertise and tools.
July 26, 2023
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Case studies
The Communal Department of Health is an outsourced service dedicated to managing the public health centers of Talca’s municipality. In 2020, as a result of its participation in the procurement project, a major environmental milestone was achieved: the Sustainable Public Procurement Guidelines of Talca’s Communal Department of Health were approved by Municipal Decree.
June 28, 2023
Waste
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Case studies
The Royal Hospital, Oman's largest government tertiary hospital, has successfully implemented a xylene chemical recycling program, showcasing its commitment to sustainability and innovation in healthcare.
June 21, 2023
Water
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Case studies
By investing in a water treatment facility, they tackled the high water consumption challenge in health care.
June 14, 2023
Energy
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Case studies
The Sirio-Libanês Hospital, a major health system in Brazil, has prioritized sustainability. Their efforts have resulted in a 40% reduction in energy consumption and a projected 15% decrease in greenhouse gas emissions.
May 31, 2023
Purchasing
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Case studies
The Catalan Region makes use of Pre-Commercial Procurement procedures to research and develop innovative solutions that contribute to societal unmet needs like Antimicrobial resistance (AMR).
May 17, 2023
Leadership
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Case studies
The National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) has made enormous strides in incorporating environmentally friendly practices and systems into its day-to-day workings.
May 03, 2023
Purchasing
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Case studies
The hospital started to work on sustainable procurement in 2018. After identifying and gathering sustainability criteria based on the Health Care Without Harm’s Sustainable Procurement Guide, in 2020 the institution formalized and documented its sustainable procurement process.
April 19, 2023
Energy
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Case studies
By taking measures to improve management, the Second Hospital of Jilin University in Changchun, China, reduced energy consumption and emissions, enhanced hospital safety, and improved medical waste management.
March 08, 2023
Energy
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Case studies
Hospital Santa Izabel, a part of the Santa Casa da Bahia system, is a member of the GGHH network in Brazil. They created and implemented an energy management program focused on energy efficiency.
February 23, 2023
Water
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Case studies
The District Six Clinic, in Cape Town, implemented a rain harvesting system during one of the most severe droughts that affected the region. The harvested water amounted to 21% of the facility’s total water consumption.
February 14, 2023
Purchasing
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Case studies
Pankaj Bector, Head of Procurement at the National Centre for Disease Control, works with suppliers to support locally-produced goods & services.
February 01, 2023
Waste
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Case studies
The large amounts of Personal Protective Equipment waste became one of the most defining and distressing images of the COVID-19 pandemic. St. Paul’s Hospital overcomes this challenge while reducing its environmental footprint.
January 18, 2023
Leadership
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Case studies
Vincy Tribhuvan,Chief Nursing Officer at Mumbai’s Jupiter Hospital, India, and her colleagues worked in different sustainability methodologies and actions to reduce their environmental impact.
January 05, 2023
Chemicals
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Case studies
Valdirene Araújo worked hard during the identification of cleaning products, and their replacement for safer, better alternatives in Santa Casa de Belo Horizonte Hospital.
December 13, 2022
Food
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Case studies
The West Java Mental Hospital Green Hospital team created a small-scale farm in the hospital to secure additional supply and income for the facility, and to contribute to the food requirements of local communities.
November 16, 2022
Leadership
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Case studies
Mónica Castaño Tovar, Environmental Management and Sanitation Coordinator for Fundación Valle del Lili, led the team that drove the health care organization to become the first in Colombia to obtain an Environmental Management System certification.
October 19, 2022
Chemicals
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Case studies
Impact Stories that Inspire | Azeeza Rangunwala - Gauteng Provincial Health Department, South Africa
Azeeza Rangunwala, the Gauteng Provincial Health Department’s Assistant Director of Research and Policy Development and her team embarked on a mercury phase-out campaign at the Sizwe Tropical Diseases Hospital.
October 05, 2022
Leadership
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Case studies
This project, which showcases the voices of people around the world working on sustainable health care delivery, is now available in English and Spanish.
September 29, 2022
Chemicals
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Case studies
The Fiona Stanley Fremantle Hospitals Group developed a strategy to eliminate the use of one of the most potent greenhouse gases used in anaesthesia with no impact on the standard of patient care or safety.
September 28, 2022
Food
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Case studies
The Fachklinik Gaissach hospital has been progressively working on the reduction of the meat content in meals and improving the nutritional value of the servings, and has reduced food waste by 30% over three years.
August 10, 2022
Waste
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Case studies
Fiona Stanley Hospital is a major tertiary hospital in the South metropolitan area of Western Australia. Its Emergency Department is a fast-paced area with a high patient turnover. Most of the equipment used is disposable, thus producing significant amounts of waste.
May 31, 2022
Buildings
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Case studies
Located in the rural area of Masarhi, state of Bihar, India, the Vistex Hospital was founded in 2019 with a grant from the Vistex Foundation and is operated by the NGO Doctors for You. The hospital is one of the main health care centers in the region.
April 11, 2022
Leadership
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Case studies
In Australia, GGHH member, the Nepean Blue Mountains Local Health District (NBMLHD) developed a sustainability plan to provide a solid platform for implementing sustainable and climate-resilient health care practices now and well into the future.
January 13, 2022
Food
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Case studies
In South Africa, Pholosong Hospital, a member of the GGHH network, worked with staff and patients to put in place an on-site garden to provide vegetables for the hospital kitchen and patient families along with creating opportunities for education and training for the community.
January 06, 2022
Energy
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Case studies
Ambulance Victoria, a GGHH member from Australia, have submitted a new case study in which they describe their long-term action plan to source 100% of their energy needs from renewable sources by 2025, and to transition to net zero carbon by 2050.
November 05, 2020
Waste
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Case studies
Queanbeyan Hospital and Health Service, a GGHH member from Australia, have submitted a new case study in which they introduce the R.A.W. (Rescued and Wasted Food) Project, which focused on reducing organics in the waste system, reducing costs while meeting clinical guidelines.
October 14, 2020
Waste
On October 20, the Health and Environment Leadership Platform (H.E.L.P.) is hosting the webinar “Reducing Healthcare’s Carbon Footprint: Lessons in Effective Hospital Waste Management”.
October 16, 2020