Project Objectives
Preparing Canada’s Health Care Buildings for Net-Zero, a project made possible with an investment from the Government of Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Implementation Readiness Fund, aims to accelerate the readiness of the Canadian health care workforce and leadership to undertake climate change mitigation initiatives that will reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from health care buildings such as hospitals, health centres, clinics and long-term care homes.
The types of emissions targeted through this initiative include GHG emissions from fossil fuel use in buildings, nitrous oxide leakage from bulk storage and distributions systems in hospitals, and hydrofluorocarbons used in metered dose inhalers (MDIs) prescribed by clinicians for treatment of respiratory ailments.
Over the next three years, the Coalition team will work with health sector associations, health care facilities, medical educational institutions, businesses, and climate change champions from across Canada to develop knowledge translation materials, deliver educational webinars and training opportunities, coordinate networking hubs and facilitate network/workforce development.
If you are interesting in supporting this initiative or have any questions please email coalition@greenhealthcare.ca or sign up for the mailing list HERE.
Project Components
Nitrous oxide is an anaesthetic gas commonly used in hospitals for perioperative pediatric care, labour, and dental procedures. Traditionally, hospitals rely on centralized systems to distribute nitrous oxide, where large tanks feed the gas throughout the facility. These centralized systems are fraught with inefficiencies primarily due to leakage. Audits within hospital settings have revealed a startling fact: more than 95% of nitrous oxide purchased does not reach its intended clinical use due to these leaks.
Nitrous oxide is a potent greenhouse gas with a global warming potential 273x greater than carbon dioxide, contributing significantly to climate change. Leakage into areas occupied by patients and staff also poses direct health risks, making this an issue of both environmental and workplace safety.
Our goal is to encourage the decommission of centralized nitrous oxide distribution systems and the transition to point-of-use, portable e-cylinders which present a practical and sustainable solution.
For more information visit: https://greenhealthcare.ca/nix-the-nitrous/
Metered doe inhalers (MDIs) are often prescribed by clinicians for the treatment of respiratory ailments such as asthma. Pressurized MDIs contain hydrofluoroalkane (HFA) propellant which provides the force to expel the medication from the canister into the lungs. HFAs are potent greenhouse gases, the most common of which (HFA134a) is 1,300x more potent than carbon dioxide.
Our goal is to help health care workers identify opportunities to replace MDIs with low-carbon inhalers (such as dry powder inhalers or DPIs) where suitable, and develop an implementation plan.
For more information visit:
- https://community.aafa.org/db/ask-the-allergist/record/what-is-the-difference-between-metered-dose-inhalers-mdis-and-dry-powder-inhalers-dpis
- https://cascadescanada.ca/resources/climate-conscious-inhaler-practices-in-inpatient-care-playbook/
Hospitals are among the most resource-intensive buildings in any community, operating 24/7 and consuming vast amounts of energy to power essential systems such as lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), food services, and medical equipment. When fueled by fossil energy sources, these operations generate significant greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, contributing to climate change.
Our mission is to collaborate with subject matter experts to equip healthcare workers with the knowledge and skills needed to accurately assess their facilities' baseline GHG emissions, particularly for those who have not yet undertaken this process. In addition, we aim to prepare these professionals and their health care facilities for a transition to low-carbon, renewable energy technologies, such as heat pumps, geothermal systems, solar photovoltaics, and innovative solutions like heat recovery from wastewater systems.
Through the development of comprehensive low-carbon transition plans, along with the dissemination of tailored educational materials and presentations, we will support the shift toward more sustainable health care infrastructure, ultimately reducing the sector’s carbon footprint and fostering long-term resilience.
A green team consists of a group of employees who are engaged in advancing and encouraging sustainability within an organization. Green teams focus on an organization’s operations and on educating employees about sustainability. Green teams are important for hospitals because they can provide a centralized effort for sustainability and remove the burden from a certain individual or department.
Our goal is to assist and train health care workers to establish their own ‘Green Teams’, and provide existing teams with additional support including decarbonization knowledge translation materials to share within their organizations.
Project Collaborators
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