Sustainability Is Healthcare: Strategic Approaches for Optimizing Energy, Reducing Carbon Footprint and Enhancing Access to Quality Healthcare (150H)

This session will delve into the symbiotic relationship between healthcare and sustainability, emphasizing the critical role of integrating energy cost management, reducing carbon emission reduction and reinvesting back into patient care to advance health equity. It will underscore how increasing access to quality healthcare aligns with sustainable practices and why this should be the guiding principle for healthcare investments. Presenters will use Boston Medical Center (BMC) Health System as a case study to illustrate how reassessing and strategically managing real estate can enhance both environmental sustainability and patient care. As New England's largest safety-net hospital, BMCHS's vision is to "make Boston the healthiest urban population in the world."BMCHS cares for a historically underserved population, and most of its patients come from communities that are highly vulnerable to the effects of climate change. BMCHS has taken several steps to reduce its carbon footprint, use renewable energy and make its campus more sustainable, which has led the system to consider how to productize its expertise to help other institutions.

BMCHS also has implemented innovative, patient-facing programs that directly address the intersection of climate and health equity. For example, the CleanPower Prescription is a first-in-the-nation pilot program that enables BMC Health System providers to write patients a prescription for a reduced utility bill using renewable energy. A solar array at BMC produces electricity, and then energy bill credits generated by solar array are transferred directly to patients' electric bills. The session will conclude with a discussion on how BMCHS's model can be replicated and can serve as a guide and roadmap for other hospitals and health systems to follow and collaborate on researched and best sustainability practices. We all can achieve greater sustainability and improved patient care through strategic real estate and energy resource management. By the end of this session, attendees will be empowered to take actionable steps toward a more sustainable and equitable healthcare system.