Project Status: Ongoing
Project Overview
This project focuses on helping hospitals reduce their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across all areas of hospital operations, including buildings, clinical practices, and procurement. Health care contributes approximately 4 to 5 percent of global GHG emissions and more than 10 percent of global GDP. This gives the sector a unique opportunity to drive low-carbon innovation and influence broader systemic change.
Hospitals face challenges in reducing their environmental impact while continuing to provide high-quality care. Through this project, we are equipping hospital teams with tools, knowledge, and partnerships to move from planning to implementation.
The project was launched in 2025 by the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care in partnership with MaRS Discovery District. The pilot program engaged with 13 hospitals and hospital networks in the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area (GTHA), accelerated implementation of 26 environmental sustainability initiatives, and demonstrated significant value by influencing over 1,550 tonnes of GHG reduction.
Encouraged by the positive response from hospital sustainability champions, the Coalition has officially renewed this program with the generous support of the Peter Gilgan Foundation. In Summer 2026, the Decarbonization in Action program will expand from the GTHA to across Ontario. The 2026/27 program will be delivered in collaboration with a cohort of 10 to 15 hospitals. Details and call for applications for a national cohort will be shared in Spring 2027.
See our project one-pager for more details.
Application for the 2026 Ontario cohort is now open!
Register your interest, and the project team will follow up with more details about the program.
Apply to Join the 2026 Decarbonization in Action CohortKey Project Goals and Deliverables
We are working with hospitals to identify decarbonization opportunities across building systems, clinical activities, and operational procedures. We bridge the data and capacity gaps in climate action planning, especially for emissions in the hospitals’ value chains, by providing technical and engineering support such as carbon analytics, cost-benefit analysis, business case development, and resources for stakeholder engagement.
As part of our project, we will develop case studies and videos of innovative solutions and share decarbonization resources within our network. In Spring 2026, MaRS Discovery District published an article on the outcomes of the pilot year, which can be accessed here: Code green: Shrinking healthcare’s carbon footprint.
Hospital staff participating in the project will be invited to join facilitated collaboration meetings, learning sessions, in-person events, and other Coalition-led working groups focused on practical climate action.
We are documenting real-world innovations that reduce emissions in health care settings. Our online Solutions Atlas will highlight successful initiatives such as replacing anesthetic gases or cutting nitrous oxide waste, and will include relevant metrics, costs, and implementation tips.
Project Resources
| Theme | Resource | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
| Leadership Emissions | Primer on Scope 3 Category 1 Purchased Goods and Services Emissions Accounting | Methodology Guidance Document (PDF) | Resource for helping hospitals understand, measure and track GHG emissions from their value chain. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Primer on Scope 3 Category 1 Purchased Goods and Services Emissions Accounting (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Primer-on-Scope-3-Category-1-Purchased-Goods-and-Services-Emissions-Accounting-Public-Version.pdf. |
| Leadership Emissions | Scope 3 Category 1 Purchased Goods and Services Emission Factors Compilation | Database (Excel) | Collection of publicly available emission factors relevant to healthcare organizations. Suggested citation: Please cite the original references as listed in the document. |
| Energy | Sustainability Initiatives Navigator | Database (Airtable) | Collection of energy and other sustainability initiatives from public sources such as Energy Conservation and Demand Management plans. Contains energy and wider sustainability initiatives from 13 hospitals and hospital networks that engaged with the project in 2025/26. Suggested citation: Please cite the original references as listed in the data tables. |
| Water Clinical Practices | Green Nephrology Low Dialysate Flow and Online Priming GHG Calculator | Initiative-specific carbon and cost-benefit calculator (Excel) | This calculator helps to quantify water-saving potential from low dialysate flow. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Green Nephrology Low Dialysate Flow and Online Priming GHG Calculator (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Green-Nephrology-Low-Dialysate-Flow-and-Online-Priming-GHG-Calculator-Public-Version.xlsx. |
| Waste | Biohazardous Waste GHG Savings Calculator | Initiative-specific carbon calculator (Excel) | This calculator helps to quantify emissions savings from improved waste segregation and reduced biohazardous waste from ORs. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Biohazardous Waste GHG Savings Calculator (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Biohazardous-Waste-GHG-Savings-Calculator-Public-Version-1.xlsx. |
| Waste | Cautery Tubes Recycling GHG Calculator | Initiative-specific carbon and cost-benefit calculator (Excel) | This calculator helps to quantify emissions and cost savings from improved recycling of cautery tubes. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Cautery Tubes Recycling GHG Calculator (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Cautery-Tubes-Recycling-GHG-Calculator-Public-Version.xlsx. |
| Food | Reusable Food Containers GHG and Waste Calculator | Initiative-specific carbon and cost-benefit calculator (Excel) | This calculator helps to quantify emissions and cost savings from introducing reusable food containers for on-site catering. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Reusable Food Containers GHG and Waste Calculator (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Reusable-Food-Containers-GHG-and-Waste-Calculator-Public-Version.xlsx. |
| Food | Reusable Food Containers Literature Scan | Knowledge Sharing Document (PDF) | High-level overview of the key findings and considerations related to switching to reusable food containers for on-site catering. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Reusable Food Containers Literature Scan (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Reusable-Food-Containers-Literature-Scan-Public-Version.pdf. |
| Clinical Practices | Centralized Dialysis Acid System GHG and Waste Calculator | Initiative-specific carbon and cost-benefit calculator (Excel) | This calculator helps to quantify emissions and cost savings from switching from single-use plastic jugs of acid to a centralized distribution system, thus eliminating plastic and acid waste. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Centralized Dialysis Acid System GHG and Waste Calculator (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Centralized-Dialysis-Acid-System-GHG-and-Waste-Calculator-Public-Version.xlsx. |
| Clinical Practices | Gloves Use Reduction GHG and Waste Calculator | Initiative-specific carbon and cost-benefit calculator (Excel) | This calculator helps to quantify emissions and cost savings from reducing overusage of gloves of various types. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Glove Use Reduction GHG and Waste Calculator (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Gloves-Use-Reduction-GHG-and-Waste-Calculator-Public-Version-1.xlsx. |
| Clinical Practices | Orthopedic Custom Packs Optimization GHG and Waste Calculator | Initiative-specific carbon calculator (Excel) | This calculator helps to quantify emissions savings from eliminating certain items from the custom packs, based on the example of one pilot project. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Orthopedic Custom Packs Optimization GHG and Waste Calculator (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Orthopedic-Custom-Packs-Optimization-GHG-and-Waste-Calculator-Public-Version.xlsx. |
| Clinical Practices | Using Labs Wisely Stakeholder Education and Engagement | Knowledge Sharing Document (PDF) | Synthesis of context and data that support business case development and stakeholder engagement for Labs Wisely. Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Using Labs Wisely Stakeholder Education and Engagement (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Using-Labs-Wisely-Stakeholder-Education-and-Engagement-Public-Version.pdf. |
| Anesthetics | Inhaler Emission Factors Compilation | Database (Excel) | Compilation of publicly available inhaler GHG factors (non-exhaustive). Suggested citation: Please cite the original references as listed in the document. |
| Anesthetics | Scope 1 Purchased Anesthetic Gases GHG Calculator | Initiative-specific carbon calculator (Excel) | Emissions baseline based on the purchased quantity (rather than just the used quantity) of anesthetic gases (desflurane, isoflurane, sevoflurane, nitrous oxide). Suggested citation: Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. Decarbonization in Action Scope 1 Purchased Anesthetic Gases GHG Calculator (Public Version), Version 1.0. 2026. Available at: https://greenhealthcare.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Scope-1-Purchased-Anesthetic-Gases-GHG-Calculator-Public-Version.xlsx. |
Support Us
If you are interested in helping to build a decarbonized, climate-resilient health care system, please consider supporting this project. We are looking for health care partners who are baselining their emissions and creating decarbonization roadmaps. We are also looking for solutions to test, new collaborations to explore, and any resources to help hospitals reduce emissions.
Get in Touch
If you are interested in learning more about the project and getting involved, please contact the Decarbonization in Action team:
- William Gagnon, Director of Implementation at william@greenhealthcare.ca
- Vivian Shi, Senior Technical Project Manager at vivian@greenhealthcare.ca
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