Sustainability

At UH, we believe that what’s good for the environment is good for our patients.

Attention to green building and energy efficiency initiatives campus-wide kept the addition of two brand-new buildings from imposing any additional electricity costs. In fact, UH Case Medical Center consumed less electricity campus-wide in 2012 – the first full year of occupancy for UH Seidman Cancer Center and the Center for Emergency Medicine – than in 2010.

“This is just one example of how our commitment to sustainability is producing triple-bottom-line benefits for UH,” says Aparna Bole, MD, Sustainability Manager for UH. “Similar energy efficiency initiatives are under way throughout the health system that will allow us to use our resources effectively, save costs, and protect the environment.”

UH also instituted food-waste composting programs in 2012 that substantially reduced our landfill use, took steps toward eliminating mercury releases into the environment, and adopted more efficient waste management and recycling methods.

As a result of this progress, UH received several Environmental Excellence awards from Practice Greenhealth, a nonprofit membership organization founded on the principles of positive environmental stewardship and best practices by organizations in the health care community. Among them were the prestigious “System for Change” award. The systemwide recognition honors our commitment to integrating environmental, social and economic considerations in our day-to-day business practices. UH Ahuja, UH Geauga, UH Richmond and St. John medical centers each received a “Partner for Change” award, recognizing the hospitals’ progressive sustainability efforts.