To gain a deeper understanding of health care’s role in addressing the health impacts of climate-induced disasters, the Health Environment and Climate Action Foundation (HECAF360) implemented a pilot project, led by Nepal’s Department of Health Services and supported by World Health Organization, in which they identified the major climate-induced disasters impacting three health care facilities in different ecological regions of Nepal, along with their adaptation and mitigation practices.

India’s largest health care enterprise, Apollo Hospitals Group, shares how they are tracking monthly energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, water withdrawal, and waste generation for 40 of their largest facilities as part of their Apollo Sustainability Action Plan. To effectively consolidate and analyze data for action, Apollo Hospitals Group developed a robust, IT-driven platform to aggregate data from all their hospitals.

Brazilian public health services managed by Associação Paulista para o Desenvolvimento da Medicina (SPDM) improved tracking processes across care units and consolidated the results to raise awareness among employees on the topic of climate change, inform actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and expenses, establish ambitious goals, and select climate action priorities.

Together with SmartCarbon Ltd., The Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust created a bespoke SmartCarbon Calculator platform for the health care sector and a five-step program for a net-zero supply chain. This addresses the shortcomings of previous, spend-based methods to calculate supply chain emissions, and actively involves and supports suppliers.

Providence describes their climate mitigation, adaptation, and advocacy strategies. To achieve their goal of becoming carbon negative by 2030, the health system developed the “WE ACT” framework to organize, mobilize, track, and report their greenhouse gas reduction efforts across five major categories. They are also developing a climate resiliency plan, called “WE REACH” (resiliency, equity, adaptation, climate, and health), and will elevate areas where the two frameworks interrelate.

Dalin Tzu Chi Hospital, Buddhist Tzu Chi Medical Foundation shares how they developed a structure to support their commitment to sustainability and leveraged it to assess and manage interventions, including reducing energy consumption by transitioning to more efficient lighting, reducing waste by eliminating single-use plastics, reducing water demand by increasing gray water usage, and serving plant-based foods.

Hospital San Rafael de Pasto, a mental health facility in Colombia, shares how implementing solutions such as substituting fuels and using renewable energy for drying hospital linens enabled them to reduce their energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, and occupational risks.

George Regional Hospital, a rural facility in Western Cape, South Africa, shares how shifting to on-site treatment of medical waste enabled them to reduce greenhouse gas emissions while also reducing medical waste incineration, a major environmental justice and health issue in the region.

Aravind Eye Care, serving the Tamil Nadu region of India, shares how they are reducing greenhouse gas emissions through the use of satellite assisted telemedicine centers, while providing subsidized primary eye care to peri-urban populations who previously did not have eye care facilities in their region.

NHS Highland in Scotland shares the results of a pilot project at Raigmore Hospital that achieved major greenhouse gas emissions reductions by changing anesthetics in operating theaters and implementing low-flow anesthesia machines. The project was so effective, it was integrated into the NHS Scotland Climate Emergency and Sustainability Strategy 2022-26 as the National Green Theatres Programme.