How Can You NOT Green Your Hospital?

1. A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School How Can You NOT Green Your Hospital? April 2, 2012

2. What are you already doing? A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School Raise your hand if you have: • Any sustainability work going on in your hospital • Any recycling programs • Any energy or water conservation projects • Any waste reduction projects • A green mission statement • A green team • A sustainability strategic plan • An understanding of what green initiatives save money • Buy-in from a CEO/COO/Senior Leader • A part or full-time sustainability position 2

3. Fill in any one of following statements: A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School • I would starting greening my hospital tomorrow, if only ____ • When I think about starting to green my hospital, I worry about ____ • I want to green my hospital but I am not sure about_____ 3

4. Not Sure We Can Afford It A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School Actual BIDMC FY11 Savings Projected BIDMC Future Savings The real question is can you afford NOT to do this work? 4

5. We Don't know Where to Start A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School Start with the tactics that are easy to accomplish, save money and meet employee expectations for a green hospital. Easy to Accomplish Saves Money This area of overlap is the goal Meets Employee Expectations 5

6. It's Overwhelming A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School The Practice Green Health Eco Checklist Includes 146 possible changes you can make to your hospital, broken into 11 broader categories. Completing that list is too big a task for people just starting out - so just pick a few items: • Print it out. (It’s a PDF so it can’t be manipulated on screen) • Check off the items you have already done • Cross off the items you aren’t going to touch right now because: • They are too hard to do… • Too labor intensive • Require input from too many people • Require technical skills you don’t currently have • They are too expensive to do • They aren’t important to your employees • Keep crossing off items until you only have about 5-30 left, depending on your tolerance/capacity for multitasking. This should create a manageable work load. 6

7. We Don't Have Expertise In-House A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School • Questions: • What makes an effective manager? • If you are a manager, what skills do you need to be effective at your job? 7

8. What We Do • Reduce waste • Increase recycling • Reduce the number of commuters who drive alone • Increase our green purchasing • Reduce the presence of hazardous chemicals in the hospital We Don't Have Expertise In-House A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School Practice Green Health has done all the leg work on the “green” issues. The only expertise you need is how to make changes at your own hospital. How We Do It Strategic planning • Frame and prioritize issues Analyze data • Collect data • Compute ROI • Publish quarterly report card Problem solve • See possibilities and remove roadblocks • Design and implement systems • Find money • Negotiate/compromise • Comply with regulatory standards Communicate • Thank people • Facilitate meetings • Train employees • Empathize, cheerlead, advocate • Manage expectations • Event plan • Create and manage web presence • Collaborate with other institutions • Build alliances across the hospital • Communicate successes at all levels of the hospital 8

9. No One Has Time A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School Everyone has time for things they believe are productive, worthwhile and achievable. • Somewhere in your hospital there is an employee who is passionate about the environment and is willing to make the time to do the coordinating/leg work because it is important to him/her. • Everyone else just has to show up once per month. • People make time if they believe it is well spent. • Ask an experienced/skilled facilitator to help guide your process • Measure results and share progress • Ask people to focus on what they think they can do. • Ask people to focus on projects that are in areas they control and can be folded into the rest of their job. • Eliminate Styrofoam in the cafeteria • Set up single stream recycling • Look for projects that don’t take a lot of time to set up or complete. An early win bolsters confidence and makes people want to get more invested. • Reupholstering exam tables • Donating medical equipment • Setting up a scrap metal program 9

10. Not a Priority - We are Focused on Patient Care A teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School • This is important because it matters to your staff. • This is patient care. It’s simply a shift to focusing on wellness and prevention. • Every truck or car you take off the road lowers asthma and stroke rates. • Reduced energy consumption either through lower utility consumption, reduced transport or more recycling means a smaller impact on global warming, which is connected to an increase in a variety of medical conditions: • Increased allergies due to increased pollen levels • Increases in vector-borne diseases (Malaria, West Nile, Lyme) • Increased skin cancer rates • Reduced energy consumption exposes fewer employees to toxins in the extraction and production processes. 10