Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH) is pleased to announce the launch of the Green Health Challenges, a new initiative calling on its robust network of over 900 members, representing the interests of more than 28,000 hospitals and health centers in 49 countries, to increase their commitment to reduce their environmental footprint.

Founding participants include GGHH members from Asia, Pacific, Latin America, Europe, and Africa. The Challenges were first announced on October 10 at GGHH’s bi-annual Latin America regional conference in Sao Paulo, Brazil and will be featured at the Network’s Asia regional conference in Taiwan this week.

The Green Health Challenges are a data-driven initiative, designed to help health care organizations commit to sustainability goals and track the impact of their environmental projects and efforts. Each Challenge contains a series of targets, indicators and focus areas that provide a pathway for members, and for the GGHH network as a whole, to measurably reduce their footprint.

Initially, the Challenges will focus on two of the ten GGHH Sustainability Goals: Waste and Energy, in addition to the 2020 Health Care Climate Challenge, which already has more than 135 member participants representing the interests of more than 10,000 hospitals and health centers around the world.

“We designed the Green Health Challenges with a multi-tier structure that enables members to pick and choose goals according to their capabilities and resources.  This design aims to make the Challenges accessible to GGHH members of all sizes and levels of sustainability experience,” said Scott Slotterback, GGHH Policy Director.

Through data submission on the Hippocrates Data Center, members can report, track and visualize their progress while contributing to an aggregated global view of the GGHH network’s efforts to reduce their environmental footprint.

As members achieve progress and reach Green Health Challenge milestones, they will receive public recognition through a new international awards program, the Green Health Awards.

“Every member can play a leadership role by engaging in the Green Health Challenges. From members just beginning to address sustainability at their facilities to those who are advanced in this field, the Green Health Challenges are an opportunity for all members to focus and progress around shared objectives. Collectively their participation sends a powerful message to hospitals and health systems everywhere that we can achieve environmentally sustainable health care,” said Antonella Risso, Technical Coordinator of Projects at Health Care Without Harm, Latin America.

The focus areas of each challenge align with the challenges of the Healthier Hospitals program in the United States, which have hundreds of hospital and health system participants. Healthier Hospitals is a program of Practice Greenhealth (GGHH’s implementation arm in the U.S.).

The Green Health Challenges are now open for health care facility, hospital, and health system members from around the world to join. Institutions that are not currently members of GGHH are welcome to join the network and participate.

Join us and take on the Green Health Challenges

 

Founding Members

Africa

  • Bogani Regional Hospital, South Africa
  • CHU Mohammed V, Morocco
  • Grey’s Hospital, South Africa
  • Netcare Limited, South Africa
  • Western Cape Government Health, South Africa

Asia

  • Kathmandu Medical College, Nepal
  • Kathmandu Model Hospital, Nepal
  • National Kidney Centre, Nepal
  • Tilganga Institute of Ophthalmology, Nepal

Canada

  • CIUSSS du Nord-de-l’ile-de-Montreal
  • Institut Philippe-Pinnel de Montreal
  • Institut universitaire en santé mentale Douglas

Europe

  • Northampton General Hospital NHS Trust, UK
  • Sussex Community NHS Foundation Trust, UK
  • Vivantes Hospital Neukölln, Germany

Latin America

  • Area de Salud Catedral Noreste, Costa Rica
  • Hospital de Pediatría “Prof. Dr. Juan Pedro Garrahan”, Argentina
  • Hospital San Rafael de Pasto, Colombia
  • Hospital Universitario Austral, Argentina
  • Hospital Universitario Departamental de Nariño, Colombia
  • Hospital Universitario Santa Sofía de Caldas, Colombia

Pacific

  • Counties Manukau Health, New Zealand
  • UnitingCare Queensland, Australia
  • Western Health, Australia

Join us on our upcoming webinar: Green Health Challenges- Leadership Through Action

Join us on our upcoming webinar to learn more about the Green Health Challenges and opportunities for your institution to participate and receive recognition for your work to reduce your environmental footprint.

GGHH staff will provide an in depth view into each of the Challenges along with founding participant members sharing their innovative projects and implementation strategies from their facility.

Time and Date:
Session 1: November 1st, 2017

  • 7 am Pacific Daylight Time
  • 11 am Argentina Time
  • 3 pm Central European Summer Time
  • 4 pm South Africa Standard Time

To check you time zone, click here. Register for session 1

Session 2:
November 1st, 2017

  • 6 pm Pacific Daylight Time

November 2nd, 2017

  • 6.30 am India Standard Time
  • 9 am China Standard Time and Philippine Time
  • 12 pm Australian Eastern Standard Time

To check you time zone, click here. Register for session 2