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Announcement - Decarbonization in Action
Over the past year, the Coalition’s Decarbonization in Action pilot project has supported hospitals across the Greater Toronto and Hamilton Area in reducing greenhouse gas emissions through practical tools, targeted implementation support, and cross-sector collaboration.
Delivered in partnership with MaRS Discovery District and made possible by the Peter Gilgan Foundation, the project shows that hospital decarbonization is not only achievable, but it is already underway, led by dedicated sustainability champions across the health system. Importantly, it also highlighted that improving patient care, operational efficiency, and environmental performance can go hand in hand.
Explore the impact of our pilot year in our press release, and learn more about the innovative solutions being implemented in hospitals through MaRS’s feature, Code Green: Shrinking Health Care’s Carbon Footprint.
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New Resources -
Sustainable Investment Tools
Are you starting to think about how sustainable investment fits within your foundation’s fiduciary duty and risk management?
Hospital foundations do incredible work raising funds to improve health — and the Healthy Capital Toolkit can help make sure every dollar supports that mission, even while it's invested. You don’t need to have all the answers to get started.
The toolkit is designed to meet foundations wherever they are. These tools give boards the language, frameworks, and resources to explore whether their investment portfolios reflect the same values their organisation stands for — and to meet the growing expectations of the next generation of donors.
| | Upcoming Event - Nursing Week 2026 Webinar Series | |
In celebration of National Nursing Week 2026 (May 11–15) the Coalition, the Canadian Association of Nurses for the Environment (CANE), and the Ontario Nurses’ for the Environment (ONE) are proud to present a webinar series highlighting nursing leadership in planetary health and sustainability.
Join one or all of the sessions to learn how nurses across Canada and beyond are driving sustainable change through advocacy, education, clinical practice, and innovation.
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WFSA Statement on Deactivating Central Piped Nitrous Oxide Systems
World Federation of Societies of Anesthesiologists
The World Federation of Societies of Anaesthesiologists (WFSA) is calling for hospitals to deactivate central piped nitrous oxide (N₂O) systems and switch to portable cylinders.
This statement is a step toward wider decommissioning of these systems, enabling emissions reductions, lowering costs, and accelerating decarbonization of health care systems globally without compromising patient care.
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Why Engagement and Communication are Key to Driving Sustainable Health Care
Geneva Sustainability Centre
To achieve sustainable health care goals, including net zero emissions, and improve health and improve health, it’s essential to progress from top-down orders to a culture of shared understanding, ownership, and action.
Sustainable health care requires aligning leadership, empowering the workforce, and building deep trust with our communities. Check out this article for a few steps that can help to build that culture.
| | Planetary Health Round Table | Watch this high-level parliamentary discussion on how Canada can strengthen economic resilience, affordability, and long-term competitiveness while improving wellbeing by aligning policy decisions with planetary limits. The event brings together policymakers and leading experts to advance practical, evidence-based solutions at the intersection of health, the economy, and wellbeing. | |
| | A new kind of 'prescription' for health and wellbeing | |
This article calls for a “new prescription” for health that goes beyond traditional medicine, emphasizing social and environmental interventions like nature, community connection, and lifestyle changes.
It highlights real examples and growing evidence and that these approaches improve physical and mental health, reduce health care demand, and address root causes of illness, pointing toward a more holistic, preventive, and sustainable model of care.
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Wise Words for Better Bites
Nourish
On March 24, during Nutrition Month, Nourish convened a powerful conversation between Executive Director Jennifer Reynolds and restaurateur/food transformation leader Stephen Beckta C.M., offering a behind-the-scenes look at the transformation of food at The Ottawa Hospital.
What emerged was a compelling vision for how food can become a central lever for healing, dignity, and system change.
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Tools and Resources: Making Plant Rich Dishes Work - Practical Solutions from Food Service
Coolfood
High-level sustainability targets are essential, but daily operations are where plant-rich menus succeed or fail. This guide moves beyond the abstract to tackle the "gritty" frictions that can stall progress—from organizational misalignment to customer acceptance.
Get the full guide to uncover the 8 most common barriers and the real-world solutions food operators used to overcome them.
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From Waste to Learning
GreenCare
Every day in health care settings across BC, unopened, unused medical supplies are discarded. Not because they are defective, but because there is no approved pathway to redirect them. For Jacqueline Louro, a licensed practical nurse at BC Cancer – watching perfectly good supplies head to the landfill was something she could not ignore. Read more to learn how she took action.
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Decontaminating the Hospital
La Presse
An ecological revolution is taking shape in the birthing unit of the University of Montreal Hospital Centre (CHUM). From bottles to diapers, everything is being redesigned with the planet in mind.
Read the article to learn the actions being taken to reduce waste and improve patient care.
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PEACH Health Ontario Conference 2026
Date: May 21, 2026
Time: 8AM - 6PM
Location: David Braley Health Sciences Centre, Hamilton, ON
Join us for the second PEACH Health Conference this spring - an exciting in-person event where you can connect with and learn from experts in sustainability, planetary health, family medicine, and knowledge translation.
Learn how climate change is transforming health care delivery, and how human stories can drive cultural and structural change within the system. Don’t miss this opportunity to network, learn, and grow with students and professionals in the field!
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Boiler Plant Optimization Project Overview and Results to Date
Date: April 29, 2026
Time: 12:30 PM ET
From malfunctioning draft dampers, to excessive steam pressures, to suboptimal boiler sequencing, just about every hospital steam plant has cost effective potential to significantly improve efficiency, reduce fuel consumption, utility costs and greenhouse gas emissions, and earn big utility company incentives. Join Greening Healthcare on April 29 to learn about early results from our project with Enbridge Gas, piloting comprehensive boiler plant optimization measures with Etobicoke General Hospital and Southlake Health in Newmarket, and how you might take advantage of the program later this year.
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Canadian Institute: 9th Annual Forum on Healthcare Infrastructure, Western Canada
Date: June 9-10, 2026
Location: Hilton Vancouver Metrotown, Burnaby, BC
This highly anticipated forum convenes capital planners, clinical leads, architects, engineers, and contractors to share actionable strategies that address the most pressing issues impacting the design and delivery of health care facilities. Through insightful case studies, panel discussions, and solution-driven conversations, attendees gain fresh perspectives on optimizing space, integrating technology, and delivering high-performing, patient-centred environments.
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Canadian Institute: 9th Annual Forum on Healthcare Infrastructure, Atlantic Canada
Date: July 15-16, 2026
Location: Atlantica Hotel Halifax, Halifax, NS
Attend CI’s Forum in Halifax for timely insights on how global trade, local conditions and cutting-edge technology are influencing project delivery.
Confer with health care infrastructure leaders about what needs to change to smooth out the capital project planning process, improve health care infrastructure design and delivery.
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Have you registered as an organ donor?
Contact your local organ donation agency and speak to your family about your wishes. You have the power to save and transform lives. Learn more and register to donate HERE.
| | The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care 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. www.greenhealthcare.ca | |
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. | | | | |
