Advocate Health receives prestigious sustainability award
Reflecting the health system’s pledge to lead on environmental sustainability, Advocate Health has been named a “2023 Health Care Climate Action Winner” by Health Care Without Harm, an internationally recognized leader in the global movement for environmental health and justice.
The award follows the enterprise’s efforts to combat climate change by making its buildings greener, using renewable energy via on-site solar, eliminating desflurane use in anesthesia gases and more.
“We pledged to be more sustainable because the health of our communities is tied so closely to the environmental conditions where we live,” said Al Manshum, Advocate Health’s senior vice president of support services. “Thank you to all of our teammates whose efforts make Advocate Health a greener place to work.”
The health system has pledged to achieve carbon neutrality by 2030 and strive for net zero carbon by 2035. Reinforced through the White House’s and U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Health Care Sector Climate Pledge, this commitment underscores its resolution to make sweeping health and equity improvements across the communities it serves.
“Helping people live fully means helping ensure they have clean air to breathe and a sustainable future for their children,” said Dr. David Callaway, chief of crisis operations and sustainability for Advocate Health. “We’re proud of this recognition, which highlights our unwavering commitment to addressing climate change.”
Learn more about the Health Care Without Harm awards here.
The latest recognition builds on the health system’s track record of sustainability work. In Advocate Health’s Midwest region, 24 hospitals were awarded multiple environmental sustainability awards from Practice Greenhealth, the nation’s leading organization dedicated to sustainability in health care. In its Southeast region, the Environmental Protection Agency recognized its energy efficiency programs and 26 Energy Star certified buildings.
A second campus of Wake Forest University School of Medicine, the academic core of Advocate Health, is currently under construction in a new innovation district in Charlotte. It is being built to a carbon-zero and LEED Gold standard, while also achieving a WELL Building Standard. It is believed this will be the nation’s first net-zero carbon medical school when it seats its first class in 2025.
