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ANNOUNCEMENT: 2022 Green Hospital Scorecard
For another year the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care will be offering the Green Hospital Scorecard to facilities across Canada, thanks to support from our new partner - Health Canada!
As hosts of Canada's only comprehensive benchmarking tool for health care, the Coalition is excited to continue our focus on helping organisations measure their environmental performance in a number of areas including water, energy, waste, pollution prevention, leadership and climate change-related resilience and mitigation.
The 2022 Green Hospital Scorecard survey (2021 data) will be released in February/ March 2023, stay tuned to our Digest for the data call announcement.
Please contact autumn@greenhealthcare.ca if you have any questions.
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Join Canada's Green Health Care Movement
The Coalition invites you to become a member of Canada's largest green health organisation for the 2023 calendar year!
By becoming a member of the Coalition you will have access to:
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Quarterly Zoom webinars where we welcome members to participate in a variety of green-themed topics of interest to today’s green health care champions.
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Members will be recognized nationally for their achievements and have priority access to lead and host pilot projects and new green initiatives.
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Members will be considered for positions on our Board of Directors and have the ability to vote on key operational decisions at the annual general meeting.
To learn more about the Coalition watch our latest video HERE.
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Planetary Health Menus: Implementing plant-rich diets for people and the planet
Join the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care, PEACH Health Ontario, CASCADES, and Nourish as we welcome speakers Elísabet H. Brynjarsdóttir and Lindi Close, master’s graduates of UBC, who will present on the integration of plant-rich menus within hospitals and long-term care centres.
We will also hear from Marianne Katusin, Director of Support Services at Halton Healthcare, who will speak about the process of integrating plant-based choices into hospital menus and Hayley Lapalme, Co-Executive Director of Nourish, will speak about Nourish’s new Planetary Health Menus climate program to help institutions reduce their food-related emissions.
Date: January 31st, 2023
Time: 9 am PST/12 pm EST
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The way forward is reusable: Demonstrating Canadian opportunities for safe, secure, and sustainable PPE
With funding from Environment and Climate Change Canada, the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care worked on a project to demonstrate that hospital-generated PPE can be successfully managed by applying principles of the circular economy, and through cycles of reuse in particular.
The Coalition hopes this video will break down misconceptions regarding reusable PPE, incite discussion on sustainability and waste reduction in health care, and inspire health care workers to advocate for reusable PPE systems in their facilities.
This video could not be possible without the support and collaboration of health care workers across Canada. Thank you for your participation.
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Summer Institute on Sustainable Health Systems | |
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Applications for the second annual Summer Institute on Sustainable Health Systems are now open!
The Summer Institute will to be held the week of June 19 – 22, 2023 in-person at 11 hub locations across
Canada. A virtual hub will be offered for those unable to attend an in-person hub.
Applications are being accepted until April 10, 2023.
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Release of RETScreen® Version 9.0
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Version 9 of the RETScreen® Clean Energy Management Software platform was released on October 13th, 2022 and is now available for download from the RETScreen website. This update has arrived with a number of salient new features to enhance the RETScreen experience!
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Ask an expert: What can I do to improve health care sustainability
Vancouver Coastal Health
As the world continues to experience the effects of climate change, there is an urgent need to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including within the health sector.
Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute researcher Dr. Andrea MacNeill explains why making this move can be good for the environment and people’s health.
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Climate impact checkup
Health Care Without Harm
Reducing your health care facility or system’s climate impact requires understanding where your greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions originate and setting your starting point.
Climate Impact Checkup is a calculator that helps health care institutions anywhere in the world measure their GHG footprint. It provides a starting point to measure, manage, and support mitigation goals and action planning no matter where your facility is located.
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Quantification of recyclable peritoneal dialysis plastics in a home dialysis program - An opportunity for resource stewardship
KI Reports
Therapies for people living with kidney disease can affect our air, land, and water by contamination from pharmaceuticals, dialysate, leachate from plastics, manufacturing processes, or atmospheric carbon pollution. Dialysis therapies, with large consumption of
energy, water, and single-use plastics, are among the most significant sources of carbon emissions in clinical care.
There is a paucity of data on plastic consumption of peritoneal dialysis (PD), especially automated PD. A UK report described continuous ambulatory PD with four daily exchanges generating 0.94 kg of polyvinyl chloride (PVC) plastic waste per patient per day. Similar data for automated PD is lacking.
Quantifying PD plastic waste is important because it provides information for planning recycling initiatives and determining the carbon footprint of PD. We performed a cross sectional audit of all PD prescriptions in a single-center home dialysis program in British Columbia, Canada, then weighed all recyclable material with sensitive scales to quantify the amount of non-biohazardous recyclable plastic waste generated by both PD modalities.
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A dozen First Nations in B.C funded to pursue clean energy projects
Canada's National Observer
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A dozen First Nations in B.C. are taking strides to reduce their dependence on dirty diesel fuel and secure a clean energy future for their communities for generations to come. The First Nations have received a total of $7.1 million to develop alternative-energy projects and improve energy efficiency through a wide range of initiatives in the first round of funding via the provincial Community Energy Diesel Reduction (CEDR) program, developed and operated in co-operation with the First Nations organisations New Relationship Trust and Coast Funds.
Many of B.C.’s 44 remote communities rely to some extent on diesel generators for electricity, which resulted in the use of 19 million litres of diesel and nearly 52,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, according to the province. The province hopes to reduce burning diesel for power generation in isolated communities by 80 per cent by 2030
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Zero emission vehicle infrastructure support program
Pollution Probe
Accessible and abundant electric vehicle (EV) charging stations are vital for increasing EV ownership. To realize Canada’s targets, Canadians will need access to significantly more EV charging options than are currently available.
To help meet this need, Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) provides funding to support new charging stations through its Zero Emission Vehicle Infrastructure Program (ZEVIP). Pollution Probe has received funding from ZEVIP as a delivery organisation, empowering us to select eligible recipients and award funding to support new EV charging stations across Canada.
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Winnipeg starts massive zero-emission transit transition with order for 16 New Flyer buses
Electric Autonomy
The Winnipeg Transit Authority has finalized its first order of 16 zero-emission buses for the city’s ongoing bus electrification program — part of a comprehensive plan to transition to a fully zero-emissions fleet by 2050.
The buses, a mix of battery electric and hydrogen fuel cell vehicles manufactured by New Flyer, a subsidiary of Winnipeg-based NFI Group, won’t start arriving until June 2024. But with the order, Winnipeg is the first city in Canada that’s moving forward with 60-foot zero-emission buses
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Circularity and recycling of lithium-ion batteries for electric vehicles
CSA Group
The use of lithium-ion batteries (LIBs) has been growing exponentially due to the rapid development and deployment of electric vehicles (EVs).
Circularity of EV LIBs refers to directing LIBs that are no longer suitable to power an EV (i.e., when they retain less than 80% of their charge) to a second life in energy storage or other applications before they are ultimately recycled to recover valuable materials (nickel, cobalt, lithium, graphite, and manganese) to make new LIBs.
While recycling of LIBs will not solve the supply issue, it will help. This research project assessed the potential role of standards and safety requirements in supporting the circularity (recycling and reuse/repurposing) of EV LIBs.
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Canadian fleets are able to transition more vehicles to zero-emission than they think
Electric Autonomy
Fleets looking to transition to zero-emission vehicles are better positioned than ever before, says Ontario-based telematics company Geotab.
While commercial vehicles were slow to come to market, momentum is building with an increasing number of key fleet-friendly models now available. But fleet managers may still be underestimating how many vehicles can be switched to zero-emission.
To understand how fleet electrification potential is evolving in Canada, Electric Autonomy sat down for an exclusive interview with Geotab’s vice-president of data and analytics, Mike Branch, and board advisor, Matt Stevens.
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CHEO's energy and carbon reduction efforts garner global recognition
CHEO
A global organisation that helps health care facilities reduce their carbon footprints is recognizing CHEO as a Canadian and world leader in ‘going green.’
After reviewing submissions from more than 4,000 health care facilities around the world – 195 of those in Canada – the International Federation of Healthcare Engineering (IFHE) presented CHEO with a Global Energy Award following a ceremony in Toronto, September 20.
IFHE challenged health care facilities to reduce their total emissions by five percent from 2019 to 2021. CHEO more than tripled this target, reducing total energy use by 15.39% - the greenhouse gas equivalent of taking 483 cars off the road.
How? By installing more energy-efficient lighting, improving heating and cooling systems, and reducing energy waste.
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St. Joseph's becomes first Ontario hospital to use planet-friendly masks
St.Joseph's Health Care London
St. Joseph’s Health Care London (St. Joseph’s) is the first hospital in Ontario to switch to a medical mask that protects more than staff, physicians, patients and visitors. It’s also safe for the planet.
The new green alternative mask is medical grade and certified while also biodegradable and compostable. Made from plant-based biopolymers from renewable crop resources, the mask not only meets the gold standard for protection, it boasts an impressive carbon offset – producing 65 percent less CO2e emissions over its life cycle than a synthetic mask.
The environmentally-friendly mask is the VIRALOC eco™ mask produced by PADM Medical based in Winnipeg, MB. The selling feature for St. Joseph’s was an opportunity to significantly reduce consumption of single-use plastics without compromising on breathability, filtration or splash resistance.
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EVENTS, TRAINING AND WEBINARS | |
Building community to advance planetary health | |
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With the complex connection between environmental health and human health becoming increasingly apparent, the necessity for health care professionals to incorporate planetary health approaches in their practice is more important than ever. Taking Action on Planetary Health introduces learners to the emerging and transdisciplinary social movement of Planetary health and offers the opportunity for learners to develop and implement solutions that will allow humanity and the natural systems we depend on to thrive now and in the future.
Over the course of 7 interactive online sessions and independent group work, participants will explore key planetary health concepts and frameworks, collaborate with a diverse group of learners, and apply planetary health principles to a novel and practical planetary health intervention.
Dates: February 17th to June 23rd , 2023.
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Climate-smart pharmacy: A prescription for a healthier planet | |
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The Global Roadmap for Health Care Decarbonization identifies strategies to reduce the climate impact of pharmaceuticals, including reducing unnecessary pharmaceutical use, substituting high emission medications with more climate-friendly alternatives, and incentivizing “green, climate-smart medicine.”
In this session, two pharmacists and a physician will discuss the climate impact of pharmaceuticals, including metered dose inhalers, along with opportunities for health professionals to promote climate-smart pharmacy practice through education, advocacy, and clinical practice.
Date: February 16th, 2023
Time: 11:00 am EST
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International Congress for Academic Medicine | |
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Registration is now open for the International Congress on academic (ICAM).
ICAM is the first international gathering dedicated to academic medicine. It will be the place for the academic medicine community to meet, network, and develop new relationships and collaborations with colleagues from around the world.
ICAM will showcase innovation and scholarship in medical education and health research. Medical students, residents and graduate students will have the opportunity to present their work, network and connect with medical education and research mentors as well as prospective employers.
Dates: April 13th - April 18th, 2023
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RETScreen® is a Clean Energy Management Software system for energy efficiency, renewable energy and cogeneration project feasibility analysis as well as ongoing energy performance analysis.
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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.
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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. | | | | |
