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Webinar - From Waste to Action: Shaping a National Approach to Food Waste in Hospitals and LTCs
Date: November 13, 2026
Time: 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM EST
Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care and PEACH Health Ontario on for our next Cut the Carbon: Beyond the OR session.
Explore practical prevention and diversion strategies and find out how you can contribute to a national guide that will inform recommendations for facilities across Canada.
This webinar is part of the Coalition's Food Waste Prevention and Diversion project, made possible with investment from ECCC.
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Webinar - Driving Sustainability Through Supplier Performance Management: Lessons for Healthcare Organizations
Date: November 17, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM - 2:00 PM EST
Join the Coalition and Deloitte Canada for a live update from COP31, and an interactive webinar on how health care organizations can use supplier performance management to advance sustainability goals and strengthen supplier accountability.
Through practical examples in the health care sector, participants will explore what effective supplier performance management looks like across the supplier lifecycle, from sourcing and contract design to ongoing performance reviews and renewal decisions.
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New Initiative - That’s GROSS! Waste Reduction Campaign Launches in the Northwest Territories
The Coalition has officially launched GROSS (Get Rid Of Superfluous Stuff), a campaign inviting health care workers across the NWT to point out unnecessary waste in their daily work, from single-use plastics and extra packaging to supplies opened and never used.
From November 1 to 30, staff can share a photo or short description in a 2-minute survey, with every submission entered in a draw for a $100 gift card sponsored by Garde-Malade.
In December, the project team will shortlist five to ten ideas and select two to three to pilot on units over the winter, assessing each for patient safety, infection prevention and control, cost and climate impact.
GROSS is funded by the Government of the Northwest Territories through the Waste Reduction and Recycling Initiative, with support from the NWT Medical Association, the NWT Health and Social Services Authority and the Northwest Territories and Nunavut Association of Nurses.
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Survey - Help Shape a National Guide to Food Waste Prevention in Health Care
As a part of a new ECCC-funded project, the Coalition is developing a practical guide to help Canadian hospitals and long-term care (LTC) facilities prevent food waste and improve diversion of unavoidable food waste from landfills and incinerators.
The guide will bring together practical approaches, real-world success stories, implementation considerations, and lessons learned from facilities and organizations across Canada.
We are looking to connect with:
- Facilities with existing food waste prevention or diversion initiatives.
- Facilities interested in starting or improving their food waste programs.
- Food services, sustainability, procurement, maintenance, and waste management professionals.
Please complete our five minute survey to participate. For questions, contact Erica Sharma at erica@greenhealthcare.ca.
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Call for Speakers - Plastics Reduction Week 2027
Date: November 23 to 27, 2026
Join us this November for a week of ideas, practical strategies, and conversations about reducing single-use plastics across health care.
Here’s what to look forward to:
- Webinars and lightning talks with industry front-runners
- Games and giveaways
- Networking opportunities
Explore the events and register to secure your spot:
Call for Speakers:
Have a project, case study, or practical insight to share? Submit a short application using the link below. Applications close TONIGHT at 11:59 PM ET.
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Save the Date - Low Carbon Energy Week 2027
Date: February 1 to 5, 2027
Join us for a week of virtual events bringing together Canada’s health care leaders and practitioners to rethink familiar constraints and reveal practical pathways that advance low carbon energy while strengthening other health care priorities.
During the week we will explore five interconnected themes:
- Rethinking Affordability
- Rethinking Engagement
- Rethinking HVAC
- Rethinking Roadmaps
- Rethinking Competing Priorities
Through real-world experiences, practical insights and engaging conversations, we'll explore how health care organizations can navigate these themes. More details, including speakers and the full program, will be announced soon. Stay tuned!
Register now to save your spot and add the events to your calendar.
| | Expression of Interest - Physician Working Group | |
The Healthy Capital program is now accepting expressions of interest for a national working group of physicians interested in advancing responsible (sustainable and mission-aligned) investing by health care foundations, research funds, medical associations, and other health care institutional investors.
Physicians see the effects of climate change and health inequities firsthand; this experience can enrich discussions about how to integrate these factors into institutional investment decisions. The group will provide opportunities to exchange ideas, explore approaches and connect with colleagues across Canada.
We're collecting expressions of interest until December 4th 2026, with updates to follow in 2027.
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Applications Open - 2027 Planetary Health Campus Ambassador Program!
The Planetary Health Alliance invites undergraduate and graduate students from around the world to apply for the 2027 Planetary Health Campus Ambassador (PHCA) Program.
This program empowers the next generation of planetary health leaders by providing opportunities to:
- Expand global networks
- Drive local action
- Develop leadership skills
Applicants must be enrolled undergraduate or graduate students for the full program term (January–December 2027). Students from all academic disciplines and citizenships are encouraged to apply.
Application Deadline: November 27, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET.
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Call for Submissions - Climate-Resilient Health Systems and Planetary Health
PLOS Global Public Health invites submissions for a new collection of original research, implementation studies, policy analyses, and interdisciplinary perspectives that examine how health systems can prepare for, adapt to, and respond to climate-related threats.
Topics of interest include:
- Climate-resilient health systems
- Planetary health
- Air pollution
- Extreme weather events
- Climate-sensitive infectious diseases
- Urban health
- Health financing for climate adaptation
- One Health approaches
Deadline for Submissions: December 31, 2026
| | New Report - The Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change | | |
The 2026 Report of the The Lancet Countdown reveals that climate action has delivered real health gains, but far too slowly and unevenly to match the threat of growing health impacts. The Lancet Countdown's 10th annual indicator report marks a decade of tracking the connections between health and climate change, documenting both escalating risks for health and opportunities for climate action.
The Canadian Public Health Association has summarized key climate and health policy priority areas of focus for Canada, supported by evidence from indicators in the 2026 Report.
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PRIORITY 1: Establish a National Climate and Health Adaptation Fund to protect people from extreme heat, wildfires and smoke
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PRIORITY 2: Use the Quality of Life Framework to support healthier, lower-emission infrastructure investment
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PRIORITY 3: Use food purchasing in health systems and schools to improve health, reduce emissions, and strengthen food systems
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Climate Disaster Preparedness Toolkit
Mobility, Access, Participation (MAP) Lab
Climate preparedness is an important part of supporting health, safety, accessibility, and participation in everyday life.
This free, accessible online resource was developed through a research collaboration involving UBC, the Mobility, Access, Participation (MAP) Lab, OT-CAN, and the Peaceful Society, Science and Innovation Foundation.
Developed with and for older adults and people with disabilities in British Columbia, the toolkit brings together emergency alerts, practical guidance, evacuation planning tools, and information about available supports.
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New Planetary Health Focus - Comparing CanMEDS 2026 and CanMEDS 2015
Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada
CanMEDS 2026 feels familiar to anyone who knows the 2015 CanMEDS Framework. But the refresh takes a broader view of what physicians need to practise effectively today.
Across the seven CanMEDS Roles, the refresh brings evolving societal expectations more clearly into focus, including health equity, digital health, system complexity, Indigenous health, planetary health and social accountability.
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Preparing to Test the Final Step in Engineered Infection Prevention: Real-Time Disinfection of the Air
CHAIR
The Coalition for Community & Healthcare Acquired Infection Reduction (CHAIR) has announced a national pilot to test whether continuous, real-time disinfection of hospital air can measurably reduce airborne pathogens, surface contamination and the spread of respiratory viral illness.
The program will evaluate SaniLume, a Canadian-made, Health Canada-registered, fan-assisted upper-air ultraviolet (UV) device in facility-wide installations.
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Podcast - Data-Driven Decarbonization: Healthcare and Beyond
Sustainability Leaders by BMO
In this episode of the Sustainability Leaders podcast, Michael Torrance, Chief Sustainability Officer at BMO, speaks with Dr. Richard Webster from the Children’s Hospital of Eastern Ontario (CHEO), about how the hospital is pursuing a board-approved net-zero strategy while maintaining high standards of patient care.
Drawing on CHEO's experience the discussion highlights how strategic and intentional partnerships can help health care organizations address complex sustainability challenges.
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Shape the Standard for Airborne Infection Prevention: ASHRAE 241 Public Review
DiVE
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ASHRAE is inviting public comments on proposed updates to Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols, until November 23, 2026. This is an important opportunity to influence how ventilation systems are designed and evaluated to reduce airborne infection risks, particularly in health care settings.
Through the Displacement Ventilation Emergence (DiVE) initiative, they're investigating how displacement ventilation compares with conventional mixing ventilation in reducing occupants' relative exposure to infectious aerosols. This research has direct relevance to the standard's approach to evaluating ventilation effectiveness and infection prevention.
DiVE and CHAIR (Coalition for Community & Healthcare Acquired Infection Reduction) are inviting interested professionals and organizations to contribute to a coordinated response, bringing together research, practical experience, and diverse perspectives.
Interested in contributing? Join the DiVE mailing list for updates and opportunities.
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Planetary Health In Practice Conference
Dates: May 26-28, 2027
Location: Hybrid - Virtual and In-person at North Island College, Courtenay, BC
This conference will bring together nurses, midwives, health care providers, researchers, educators, community leaders, and policymakers to explore how planetary health can be integrated into everyday nursing and midwifery practice, with a particular focus on leadership and bridging the gap between knowledge and action, as well as health promotion.
The event will prioritize practical solutions and collaborative learning, moving from global concepts to real-world implementation across diverse care settings.
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11th Annual Forum on Healthcare Infrastructure, Eastern Canada
Dates: November 12-13, 2026
Location: In Person, at One King West Hotel & Residence, Toronto, ON
At Canadian Institute’s 11th Annual Forum on Healthcare Infrastructure, Eastern Canada, health care project owners, government officials, and industry leaders will explore the evolving health care infrastructure landscape, share lessons learned from projects currently underway, and discuss what's next for the sector.
Plus! Join the LinkedIn group, Canadian Public Infrastructure: Planning, Construction, and Design Professionals, to be in the loop with event updates.
Join us! Coalition supporters save 10% with code: D10-999-CCGHC27
| | The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care (CCGHC) is Canada’s premier green health care resource network, leading the evolution of green in Canada’s health sector as a national voice and catalyst for environmental change. Your support makes it possible for us to help build a sustainable, resilient and equitable heath system for all. All donations to the CCGHC are eligible for a tax receipt. | | | Some articles referred to in the Digest make reference to services and/or product offerings from specific suppliers. The CCGHC recommends that readers research the service and product offerings available through a wider range of suppliers for comparison purposes and in keeping with public sector purchasing guidelines. These articles should not be interpreted as an endorsement of any product or service. | | | | |
