January 24t, 2025

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COALITION SPOTLIGHT

New Project: Launch of new national campaign to reduce/reuse plastics in health care

The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, in collaboration with Hamilton Health Sciences (HHS), has launched a new national awareness initiative to reduce and reuse plastics in health care settings - Circular Clinical Care: Reducing Single-Use Plastics in Health Care.

This three-year project is funded by Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC).

Read the full Media Release below.

HSO Releases Declaration on Climate Action

Health Standards Organization (HSO)



HSO has established a 16-member Climate Action Advisory Committee to guide its climate action initiatives, with members from across Canada including CCGHC Executive Director, Dr. Myles Sergeant and Senior Climate Change Adviser, Linda Varangu.

The committee marks a significant collaboration between HSO, Accreditation Canada, and CCGHC, culminating in a webinar on February 4th, 2025. The upcoming webinar will provide an opportunity for participants to hear from experts as they discuss the urgent need for climate action in health care and explore actionable strategies for building a climate-resilient health care system.

Webinar: Seven Steps to Lower Carbon at your Health Care Facility

Date: February 7th, 2025

Time: 9:00AM PT/12:00PM ET

Reducing the carbon footprint of a Health Care facility can take many different paths depending on the circumstances of an individual facility or the facility management team. The basic principals though remain the same, relying strongly on reducing energy waste, improving energy efficiency and strategically applying renewables. “The Seven Steps” is a time-tested framework for those concerned with reducing energy consumption and carbon emissions to routinely assess current facility performance and identify opportunities for savings.

This webinar will be presented in English and in French.

Webinar: Building a Low Carbon Energy Toolbox for your Health Care Facility

Date: February 14th, 2025

Time: 9:00AM PT/12:00PM ET

Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care as we welcome Katelyn Poyntz from Unity Health Toronto to share practical strategies for advancing low-carbon energy solutions in health care facilities.

Katelyn will guide participants on what to include in a low-carbon energy toolbox, tailoring it to your unique systems and equipment, and effectively pitching your project within your organization.

This webinar is being delivered as part of the Coalition’s “Preparing Health Care Buildings for Net-Zero” project, made possible with an investment from the Government of Canada’s Low Carbon Economy Implementation Readiness Fund.

Catch up on our latest webinars!

Missed one of our recent webinars? No problem! The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care posts all webinar recordings on our YouTube channel.

Our two latest webinars are now available:

Canadian Health Care Forests: How to Bring Nature to Your Health Care Facility – Explore innovative ways to integrate natural spaces into health care settings. Watch the recording HERE.

Rethinking Nitrous Oxide in Health Care: An Environmental and Economic Initiative – Discover strategies to reduce nitrous oxide emissions while cutting costs. Watch the recording HERE.

Subscribe to our channel to stay updated and catch every insightful discussion on advancing sustainability in health care!

UPCOMING OPPORTUNITIES

Food is Our Medicine 2025 Community of Practice

Nourish



The "Food is Our Medicine 2025" Community of Practice invites health care providers to explore Indigenous foodways as a pathway to reconciliation and improving health care outcomes. Running from February to December 2025, this initiative includes six virtual learning circles led by Indigenous leaders and experts, offering a space to honour Indigenous knowledge, challenge systemic inequalities, and incorporate culturally mindful food practices. Participants will enhance their understanding of food’s role in healing and decolonizing health care, contributing to better patient outcomes and a more inclusive healthcare system.



Next Virtual Learning Circle: Wednesday, February 26, on Zoom from 3:00 pm-4:30 pm, ET, 12:00 pm-1:30 pm PT.

Volunteer with Canadian Association of Pharmacy for the Environment

CAPhE

Canadian Association of Pharmacy for the Environment (CAPhE) is growing and working away on some exciting projects, thanks to partners and volunteers. They're ready to keep expanding and are looking for pharmacy professionals from across the country to help them achieve their goals! With multiple portfolios to choose from, there are many ways to be involved.

They are recruiting pharmacists, pharmacy technicians, pharmacy assistants, and pharmacy students to volunteer in a variety of board and committee positions. Anticipated time commitment is one to two hours per week.

Interested? Fill out the Call for Volunteers form LINKED below.

Climate, Health, and Sustainable Care ECHO

CASCADES

The Climate, Health, & Sustainable Care ECHO is a collaborative learning platform for Canadian health care professionals to explore, discuss, and advance climate-resilient and sustainable health care practices. Using the "all teach, all learn" ECHO model, participants engage in expert-led lectures, peer-shared case studies, and in-depth discussions to exchange guidance and inspire action.

The program fosters a supportive network, offering practical insights and confidence to implement sustainability projects while spreading best practices across the health care sector.

Sign up to be notified when registration opens!

Metrics for Change: Towards Sustainable Health Systems

CASCADES

This course equips health care professionals with the knowledge and tools to assess and reduce the environmental impacts of the health sector at various scales using methodologies like Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and carbon footprinting. Delivered through a mix of asynchronous content and live virtual sessions, participants will build environmental measurement literacy, practice generating carbon footprints, and develop systematic approaches to sustainability challenges. Offered free by CASCADES, the course combines lectures, exercises, and assessments to empower informed action on healthcare sustainability.

Sign up to be notified when registration opens!

CLIMATE & HEALTH

PaRx People: A Conversation with Elena Rios

PaRx

Elena Rios, a wildland firefighter with the Chumash Fire Department and a certified Nature and Forest Therapy guide, integrates ancestral knowledge and nature connection into her work to support mental and physical well-being. Through her unique blend of firefighting and nature therapy, she helps colleagues cope with stress and anxiety, offering a space for reflection and healing.

Learn more about how she highlights the importance of slowing down, reconnecting with nature, and balancing the demands of intense work with holistic wellness practices.

CLIMATE ACTION

Health professionals issue urgent call for climate action and for their pension plan to step up

Healthy Debate

In October, the World Health Organization highlighted findings from The 2024 Lancet Countdown on Health and Climate Change emphasizing the international health community’s call for “fossil fuel divestment to save lives.”



Nurses and other health professionals are no strangers to the ways our overheating planet is wreaking havoc on our health. That’s why the Registered Nurses’ Association of Ontario (RNAO) and partnering health professionals are calling on the $112 billion Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan (HOOPP) to stop investing nurses’ retirement savings in companies that are making the climate crisis worse.

Do 'act of God' clauses still work in the era of climate change?

Corporate Knights

The planet is getting riskier. Records indicate that weather events creating more than US$1 billion in damage have taken place 20.4 times a year over the past decade, compared with just 5.6 times a year in the 1990s.



How do you create contracts for big construction projects, dams or wind and solar projects when the disasters we used to call “acts of God” happen every month? In this essay from our upcoming winter issue, associate editor Mark Mann explores the new ideas around risk assessment that will be required to fund the climate mitigation projects of the future.

Climate-Smart Circularity: Guiding Decision-Making Through Data-Informed Standard Protocols

CSA Group

CSA Group has released a new report on how to design climate-smart circular pathways.

The transition to circularity is vital to reduce environmental impacts across various industry sectors, but not all circularity is equal. Some pathways can unintentionally release more greenhouse gases (GHGs) than they save. For instance, poorly designed recycling or energy recovery processes in the construction and agrifood sectors may emit more carbon than they offset.

The key to true sustainability lies in climate-smart circularity—designing pathways that reduce GHG emissions by at least 20% compared to virgin production, which requires:

• Efficient technologies with lower energy use
• Cleaner transportation modes
• High-quality material recovery

By focusing on the right pathways and operational structures, the ecological and economic benefits of circularity can be maximized while aligning with Canada’s climate goals.

FOOD SYSTEMS

Podcast: Making hospital food scrumptious, and sustainable

CBC: White Coat, Black Art

When Ned Bell’s wife was recovering from cancer surgery at, the unappetizing food she was served at the hospital left a bad taste in his mouth. So the five-star chef teamed up with his wife’s surgeon to revamp patient meals.

Dr. Brian Goldman visits Chef Bell in the hospital’s test kitchen to see how the new “Planetary Health Menu” helps boost patient health and reduce the carbon footprint of traditional hospital food.

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EVENTS

The 6th Canadian Plant-Based Nutrition Conference

Plant-Based Canada

The 6th Canadian Plant-Based Nutrition Conference is scheduled for May 24th, 2025. Mark your calendars and stay tuned for more details, as we are planning an exciting event. We look forward to welcoming attendees both in person in Toronto and online. Please encourage your friends, family, and health practitioners to join as well.

Stay tuned for more information and check out the Plant-Based Canada website.

47th Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Conference

The Canadian Medical and Biological Engineering Society

On May 27th-29th, 2025 join the CMBEC47/ACCES26 Joint Conference in the Fredericton Convention Centre in downtown Fredericton, New Brunswick. 

This is the premier annual event for biomedical engineering professionals in Canada. Whether you are a health care administrator, manager, engineer, technologist, industry professional, or nurse, your participation offers opportunities to:

• Build knowledge across academic, medical device innovation, clinical engineering, and continuing education streams.
• Network with peers from across Canada.
• Explore new technologies in the Exhibitor Hall, featuring biomedical equipment vendors, alternative service providers, educational institutions, and government agencies.

CHES 2025 Webinar Series

Dates and Topics:

• January 22nd, 2025 - A Roadmap: Capital Planning to Project Delivery
• February 26th, 2025 - Enrich Patient Experiences by Leveraging Technology and Utilizing Predictive Analytics
• March 19th, 2025 - Safety 101…According to the CSA Standards…You don’t know what you don’t know
• April 23rd, 2025 - Structural Upgrade of Pre-Code Hospital Building to Meet Modern Safety and Operational Standards
• May 21st, 2025 - CSA Z462 2024 Edition Significant Impacts for Hospitals
• June 18th, 2025 - Flooring & CSA Z8000 Canadian Health Care Facilities Planning, Design and Construction
• October 15th, 2025 - Infection Prevention and Control
• November 19th, 2025 - Improving Energy Efficiency While Saving Precious Real Estate and Reducing Operational Costs: How Wastewater Heat Recovery Helped Toronto Western Hospital Achieve All Three

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