
Developed as part of Health Care Without Harm's Health Care Climate Learning Initiative, this guidance spotlights proven practices to help health care facilities achieve net zero while centering health equity, resilience, and adaptive capacity. These recommendations were compiled from discussions with health care leaders during a series of workshops around the world.
Background
Race to Zero is a global campaign launched by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that mobilizes a coalition of leading net-zero initiatives in different sectors, and an increasing number of health care organizations have signed on.
The Race to Zero campaign is organized under the “5 Ps” criteria:
As Race to Zero’s health sector partner, Health Care Without Harm is sharing and collating learnings on GHG emissions reduction, resilience building, and adaptation efforts across the health care sector, accessible through Health Care Without Harm’s Global Green and Healthy Hospitals (GGHH) network.
Working with global partners, Health Care Without Harm developed this guidance to build on Race to Zero’s “5 Ps” criteria and lead health care organizations on the path to net zero. This includes:
- Category 1 – Pledge: Gather support and resource allocation from leadership and an expressed commitment to climate action
- Category 2 – Plan: Baseline and estimate emissions, risk, and vulnerability
- Category 3 – Plan: Develop a Carbon Management Plan (CMP) or Climate Action Plan (CAP) to improve facility- and community-based adaptation and resilience
- Category 4 – Proceed and Publish: Prioritize and implement high-impact interventions to reduce emissions and build resilience and adaptive capacity. Monitor, track and report progress related to these interventions.
Guidance for health care action
Category 1 – Pledge: Gather support and resource allocation from leadership and an expressed commitment to climate action
Systemic, transformative climate action will require advocacy, relationship building, coalition support, and the creation of larger networks to propel wider societal and environmental change. Remember to remain persistent and patient in gathering buy-in, as building consensus and achieving your goals may take time. The following steps will lead to meaningful progress in achieving climate action goals.
Resources
A growing number of emissions calculators are available, including free tools developed by Health Care Without Harm specifically intended for the health care sector. Examples include the Climate Impact Checkup, suitable for health care organizations worldwide, and the Health Care Emissions Impact Calculator, created for health systems and facilities in the United States.
Category 2 – Plan: Baseline and estimate emissions, risk, and vulnerability
Baselining and estimating emissions, risk, and vulnerability are crucial to developing effective climate action strategies. Full emissions accounting across all three scopes is a significant undertaking that will take considerable time. Start with the data you have or can easily obtain, knowing you will add data from other sources in the future. It is important to review and update these strategies as new information becomes available.
Category 3 – Plan: Develop a Carbon Management Plan or Climate Action Plan to improve facility- and community-based adaptation and resilience
Developing a Carbon Management Plan (CMP) or Climate Action Plan (CAP) can help health care organizations reduce their GHG emissions, improve their resilience to climate change impacts, and demonstrate their commitment to sustainable and resilient health care delivery. A Carbon Management Plan refers to a plan focused solely on mitigation efforts, while a Climate Action Plan is holistic and considers the crucial intersection of mitigation, resilience, and adaptation efforts.
Key components of a plan include:
- Emissions baseline
- Emissions reduction targets
- Summary of risks and vulnerabilities through stakeholder input
- Actions and interventions to reduce and avoid emissions
- Financing arrangements and governance of the plan
- Progress reporting and regular review of the plan
Equally important to a comprehensive plan is the process used to develop it. Consider the following action steps when developing your plan:
Resources
Members of Health Care Without Harm’s Global Green and Healthy Hospitals network have access to a Carbon Management Plan template developed by Health Care Without Harm Europe, and to the Climate Impact Checkup tool guide that explains how to develop a bespoke Carbon Management Plan.
Category 4 – Proceed and Publish: Prioritize and implement high-impact interventions to reduce emissions and build resilience and adaptive capacity
There are a vast number of possible interventions to decrease GHG emissions and build resilience and adaptive capacity. Identifying and implementing high-impact interventions first can assist in gathering buy-in for harder-to-implement interventions. Here are some critical steps to consider: