Working Groups and Networking Hubs

The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care offers a range of virtual working groups and networking hubs designed to promote collaboration and knowledge-sharing in key areas of sustainable health care. Our initiatives cover topics such as sustainable procurement, environmentally responsible prescribing, green food practices, and provides opportunities for health care professionals to connect, exchange ideas, and develop innovative solutions for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

These efforts collectively empower the health care sector to drive sustainability and build climate resilience.

Explore the opportunities below!

Networking Hubs

Low Carbon Energy Networking Hub

As part of the Coalition's 'Preparing Canada’s Health Care Buildings for Net-Zero' project, funded by the Government of Canada's Low Carbon Economy implementation Readiness Fund, the Low Carbon Energy Networking Hub aims to accelerate the adoption of low- and no-carbon energy solutions across Canada’s health care sector.

Join our monthly meetings, led by a Low Carbon Energy Advisor, to develop customized low-carbon energy plans for your facility. These sessions bring together health care professionals and experts to identify, prioritize, and implement low-carbon technologies and practices. You'll be supported to discern actions based on your particular facility’s context and organizational readiness for carbon reduction. 

The Networking Hub creates connections and fosters community among health care workers with expertise in low-carbon technologies, helping bridge knowledge gaps and engage those less familiar with greenhouse gas (GHG) mitigation. By learning from patterns in sector leaders' experience, the hub informs the creation of customized roadmaps to accelerate climate action across diverse healthcare facilities, offering a collaborative space for networking, shared learning, and meaningful steps toward a net-zero future.  

Sign-up here: https://forms.gle/gkesFeX7fiQ38XKq9

Green Teams Networking Hub

As part of the Coalition's 'Preparing Canada’s Health Care Buildings for Net-Zero' project, funded by the Government of Canada's Low Carbon Economy implementation Readiness Fund, the Green Team Networking Hub is designed to empower health care sustainability champions to connect, collaborate, and lead transformative change across Canada’s health care sector.

Join our bi-monthly online meetings to share/learn about new resources, engage with peers, and showcase your team’s initiatives. By bridging knowledge gaps, learning from innovative practices, and building collective expertise, the hub will enable participants and assist them in implementing impactful sustainability actions and drive progress toward a resilient, net-zero future.

The first meeting will be held in January 2025.

Sign-up here: https://forms.gle/CEvus5V5VtG1Vp6S6

Working Groups

Sustainable Procurement Working Group

Purpose and Scope

The Sustainable Procurement Working Group was established in 2023 with the aim to transform Canadian health care supply chains to a shared vision of a resilient and environmentally sustainable health care system. The Working Group acts as a catalyst for joint action of Hospital Purchasing Departments, Group Purchasing Organizations (GPO’s), their members and other stakeholders, initially in Ontario, to challenge suppliers to champion low carbon product innovations and to develop new business models that minimize waste and harm to the environment. The Working Group also provides guidance for the development of more sustainable procurement policies and identify actions for the top most carbon intensive products and suppliers.

Priorities

  • To encourage health care suppliers to measure their carbon footprint and to set goals to reduce them.
  • To develop a prototype for a sustainable health care procurement policy and procedure manual and implementation guide for GPO’s and their members
  • To create a consistent and aligned message to the supplier community regarding sustainability goals and objectives of the healthcare community
  • De-carbonize the healthcare supply chain in Canada
  • Focus on developing the 3 ESG pillars: Economic, Social, Environmental
  • Create a Community of practice for sharing best practices/opportunities for standardized products/design opportunities – informed by clinicians
  • To share information, best practices, and opportunities for the advancement of incorporating sustainability practices into procurement operations

We welcome new members to group at any time. If you are interested in joining, please contact us coalition@greenhealthcare.ca.

Past Slides

Canadian Sustainable Prescribing Working Group

Purpose and Scope

The Sustainable Prescribing Working Group was established in fall 2022 by the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care with the aim to transform Canadian health care prescribing practices with a shared vision of a resilient and environmentally sustainable health care system.

This Working Group acts as a catalyst for joint action of provincial and national deprescribing/medication optimization/ appropriate prescribing groups, to communicate the environmental benefits of sustainable prescribing to prescribers.

Priorities

  • To support each other in promoting the environmental benefits of appropriate prescribing
  • To support each other in promoting the integration of environmental considerations as part of appropriate prescribing
  • To support each other in promoting clinically and environmentally sound prescribing
  • To unite around the cause of sustainable prescribing
  • To help each other with consistent and aligned messaging on various communication platforms and strategies
  • To share resources and explore opportunities to collaborate, in terms of education, quality improvement initiatives and research
  • To engage relevant stakeholders in sustainable prescribing efforts

We are welcoming new members at any time. If you are interested in joining, please contact us at coalition@greenhealthcare.ca.

Sustainable Food Services Committee

Purpose and Scope

The Sustainable Food Services Committee provides implementation advice, strategies, and research to support hospitals and other health care institutions in implementing sustainable menu choices including: plant forward menus, values-based procurement practices, viewing food as medicine, and food waste reduction.

The committee primarily focused on Ontario health care, with some work on a national scale.

Meetings happen once every two months.

If you are interested in joining, please contact us at parascf@mcmaster.ca.