Energy & environmental sustainability

Overview

Climate change is a serious threat to human health. The urgency to focus on sustainability and build climate resilience is clear. Providence Health Care is working to reduce the environmental impacts of health care. We are adapting our work to be resilient to extreme climate events. 

Sustainability is a foundational principle of our Mission: Forward Strategic Plan (2019-2026). In 2024, we launched our Planetary Health Strategic Plan.  Every year, we develop a work plan to drive our actions, and our Planetary Health Steering Committee monitors our plan for accountability.

Three strategic directions guide planetary health at Providence.

Highlights of our sustainability work 

• We have reduced our emissions footprint by 19.8% since 2010.
• We embedded climate risk and resilience planning into our major capital projects and our new builds will be LEED certified.
• We launched the first Planetary Health Funding Awards to support sustainability ideas of staff and medical staff across Providence.
• St. Vincent's: Honoria Conway-Heather achieved 77% waste diversion.  
• We installed a solar photovoltaic system on Mount Saint Joseph Hospital’s roof. This is the first use of solar panels at one of our facilities.
• St. Vincent’s: Brock Fahrni added cooling and subscribed to renewable natural gas, reducing carbon emissions by 80%. This site is our first net-zero carbon emission facility, winning the Best in Canada for Carbon Reduction in 2022.
• Holy Family Hospital won the Global Healthcare Carbon Reduction Award for achieving the Largest Building Carbon Emission reduction percentage in the world between 2021 and 2023.
• We are leading the way in establishing new waste streams such as IV bag and blue wrap recycling.
• We have dedicated clinical teams who are leading projects such as anesthetic practices that lower greenhouse gas emissions, green prescribing, and clinical waste reduction. 

Environmental stewardship team

Our Environmental Stewardship Team (ESTeam) is a cross-disciplinary, green team of committed staff and medical staff. They take action to advance Providence’s planetary health strategy towards sustainable healthcare.  

Objectives

1. Build awareness and commitment to sustainable healthcare and related efforts across the organization and beyond.
2. Support channels for meaningful engagement of staff and medical staff recognizing varying levels of capacity.
3. Advance the most impactful projects and initiatives in support of the planetary strategy and in alignment with Providence Health Care structures. 

Project teams within the ESTeam support sustainability work like:

• Reducing our impact (e.g. reducing the use of disposable supplies, increasing recycling, addressing food waste).
• Building our capacity (e.g. providing information and encouraging engagement and action).
• Developing our resilience (e.g. promoting structures and teams that can withstand climate shock). 

The GreenCare network

Founded by the Energy and Environmental Sustainability team, GreenCare is a network that unites efforts within the B.C. health care community to transform our health care system toward environmentally sustainable and resilient care for healthy people, places and the planet.

Contact us

If you have a question about environmental sustainability at Providence, please email the Planetary Health Lead.