The Green Digest gratefully acknowledges project
support from ENERGY STAR ® Canada.

Conservation and Demand Management Plan Training Sessions
By July 1, 2019, hospitals must submit their annual energy report and update their five-year Conservation and Demand Management (CDM) plans.

The annual energy consumption data needs to be submitted to the Ministry of Energy, Northern Development and Mines. Your 2019 CDM plan needs to be posted online and made available in hard copy at your head office. To support you with your compliance efforts, The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care and our partners, Ecosystem, ECNG, Health PRO and CHES Ontario are hosting CDM Plan training sessions across Ontario.

All sessions will run from 9:00AM - 3:00PM.

Final session:
  1. Lakeridge Health --- OSHAWA --- Friday April 26th - REGISTER

Sessions include:
  • Complimentary lunch and refreshments
  • Details on the new Ontario Regulation 507/18
  • Updated CDM plan template
  • Training on how to complete your 2019 plan
  • Building energy consumption data (ECNG customers)

Costs and financial support:
  • One person = $295
  • Two people (from the same facility) = $460
  • Three people (from the same facility) = $600

The CHES Ontario Education Tuition Grant funding may be available to members. Please apply BEFORE attending workshop to request assistance (first 40 registrants only) - for more information, click HERE.
 
Questions?
Contact us for more information at (905) 635-3299 or email shirsch@ecng.com

Should medical imaging equipment be ENERGY STAR® certified? 
With support from ENERGY STAR Canada and BC Hydro, researchers worked with Dr. Anthony (Tony) Easty – Institute of Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering (University of Toronto), the United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA), and three host hospitals: Nanaimo Regional General Hospital (NRGH) in British Columbia, and Toronto’s Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) and University Health Network (UHN).

The study, which included multiple testing events for low power energy modes, standby/idle power modes and active/scanning energy modes, revealed positive findings in terms of energy reduction possibilities and a number of recommendations.

To read the recommendations, and the full advertorial please click HERE.
St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton embraces RETScreen with calculated results
RETScreen Expert Energy Management software has proven to be exactly what the doctor ordered to substantiate the value energy management initiatives bring to St. Joe’s bottom line.
Click HERE to read the Coalition's newest case study!

St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton adopte RETScreen avec des résultats calculés - le logiciel de gestion de l’énergie de RETScreen Expert s’est avéré être exactement ce que le médecin a ordonné pour justifier la valeur des initiatives de gestion de l’énergie pour Saint-Joe’s. Cliquez ICI pour lire l'étude de cas!
How and why to measure food loss and waste - a practical guide

Across North America, governments and businesses are increasingly realizing the enormous impacts of food loss and waste. Uneaten food represents social, environmental and economic costs, but also a large opportunity. Taking action to prevent food loss and waste offers a rare “triple win” – economic gains, reduction of environmental impacts and improved quality of life for those who currently lack sufficient food.

This practical guide, developed by the Commission for Environmental Cooperation, walks readers through the steps for measuring food loss and waste (FLW) within a home, institution, business, city, state or country. Treat it as a quick reference for assistance and look for internal links that allow you to quickly reach the material of most interest. The guide provides a step-by-step plan for how companies and governments can begin the process of measuring food loss and waste. It addresses key topics such as:
  • Why measure food loss and waste (FLW)
  • How to establish a business case for food loss and waste measurement
  • Addressing common barriers and obstacles
  • Tracking causes of food loss and waste
  • Converting measurements to other financial, environmental and social impacts
  • How to select a measurement method

For more information, or to access the tools, reports and case studies please click HERE.
London, England installs air quality monitors in hospitals

Ten hospitals in the most polluted areas of London, England will be equipped with new air quality monitors to measure levels of toxic air and help protect patients and staff. It is part of Mayor Sadiq Khan’s Breathe project and follows the move to provide pupils from five London primary schools with backpacks fitted with air quality sensors on their journey to and from school to help monitor the levels of toxic air.

The first monitor is already up and running at St. Bartholomew’s Hospital, with others due to be installed shortly at the Trust’s other three hospitals The Royal London, Whipps Cross and Newham Hospitals, as well as at Great Ormond Street Hospital, the Royal Free Hospital, Guy’s Hospital and St Thomas’ Hospital and other NHS sites in London.

The new hospital monitors will support the NHS by providing real-time air quality measurements that will allow health professionals to take appropriate action to protect patients and employees – for example, warning patients about high pollution episodes and advising which hospital entrances have the lowest levels of pollution.

To read the full story, please click HERE .
Nanaimo General Hospital Celebrates a BC Climate Action Success
The climate in B.C. is changing, and many people are beginning to feel the effects. The Nanaimo General Hospital is preparing for the future by understanding how climate change could impact them, and setting priorities and budgets accordingly.
 
Using a protocol developed by the Public Infrastructure Engineering Vulnerability Committee (PIEVC) of Engineers Canada, the Sustainability and Energy Management team at Island Health categorized hospital infrastructure into civil, electrical, enclosure, mechanical, structural, and water systems. They looked at climate projections related to such things as temperature, rainfall and air pollution from forest fires, and determined whether there could be a negative interaction with hospital infrastructure in the years to come. They scored the severity of the impact and the probability of infrastructure failure, and used those numbers to yield an overall ‘risk’ score. Now they’re using the risk scores to set priorities and allocate budgets for hospital retrofits and inform new construction.
 
A few of the benefits of the project:
  • Preventing climate change emergencies is dramatically less costly than recovering from them.
  • Lessons from this project are influencing what engineering associations tell their membership, and will help to inform new building codes and other standards where appropriate.

To learn more about the work at Nainamo General, please click here to access the case study.

Grant Call for Proposals - Northern Transportation
Adaptation Initiative

Transport Canada is inviting you to submit an application for the Northern Transportation Adaptation Initiative (NTAI) Program. The Program will provide financial assistance to Eligible Recipients in support of projects that advance one or more of the following objectives:

  • increase awareness and understanding of climate risks and vulnerabilities to northern transportation assets;
  • research, develop and test innovative technologies; and
  • advance knowledge and support capacity-building.

For 2019-20 to 2020-21, a total of up to $340,000 in funding will be available towards grant funding for eligible activities. The maximum amount payable per project is $50,000.

The deadline for submitting an application for projects is May 13, 2019. For more information, and to apply visit the Program’s webpage HERE .

NOURISH Food for Health Symposium
Be a part of a national movement to make food a fundamental part of health and healing for patients, our communities and our planet.

The two-day symposium is a meeting place for health care and food systems stakeholders to learn about the power of food to enhance the patient experience, organisational culture, and community well-being. Situated at Evergreen Brickworks in the beautiful Don Valley ravine on Treaty 13, join Nourish for two memorable days of immersive learning experiences, great food, and conversations about the future of food in health care. 

When: May 15-16 th 2019
What to expect:
  • Keynote speakers and thought-leadership from prominent Indigenous, Canadian, and international leaders;
  • Experiential workshops with practitioners leading innovation around food in health care;
  • Immersive hospital food experience around the future of food in health care;
  • Elders gathering and a focus on truth and reconciliation through food in health care.
  • Local tours to health care sites and food places of interest in Toronto
  • Networking opportunities with national leaders & a chance to share challenges and pathways forward to getting more value from the food served in health care 

To register, or for more information please click HERE.
SYMPOSIUM: Impacts of wireless technology on health
There is significant evidence that a range of adverse health effects can result from increased numbers of interconnected wireless devices and infrastructures which emit nonionizing microwave or radiofrequency radiation (MW/RFR). Such effects can include: impairment of reproduction, amplification of effects of other toxic agents, and contribution to chronic disease. Additionally, at exposure levels of MW/RFR commonly tolerated by the general population, some patients experience development of cancer, as well as acute and chronic symptoms including fatigue, tinnitus, headaches, as well as neurological and cardiac dysfunction.

This day-long event will involve 20-minute presentations from clinicians, medical researchers, and patient advocates, followed by 10 minutes of group discussion. The objective of the symposium is to educate clinicians about:

  1. Demographics, toxicology, epidemiology and pathophysiology of wireless technology on health;
  2. Current states of best practices for management and treatment;
  3. Up-to-date research and;
  4. Understanding of the lived experiences of patients.

When: Friday, May 31 2019
Where: Women's College Hospital, Toronto
Cost: $100 + processing fee

A complete agenda for the event can be found here. Please click HERE for more information and registration.
RCO presents Circular Procurement Summit
This June, the Recycling Council of Ontario is hosting an educational and transformational event. Canada’s first-ever Circular Procurement Summit is designed for municipalities, their provincial and federal counterparts, and the public sector and their suppliers at large.
The aim is to support and accelerate the transition to the circular economy through procurement.

By leveraging purchasing power, public health bodies can drive circular outcomes in their operations that produce savings, long-term value, and environmentally preferable options that benefits their organisations and patients.
 
Visit the summit website for more information.
CHES Ontario Conference & Trade Show
Tickets are on sale NOW for the 2019 CHES ON Conference & Trade Show: Breaking Down Barriers to Improving our Healthcare Facilities!

When: June 2-4 2019
Where: Hamilton, Ontario
Cost: $90 - $450 (prices vary)

Visit the conference website for more information on programs, pricing and accommodations.
CHES chapter events and courses
Several CHES chapters across the country will be holding a variety of events in the coming summer months. Please see below for a summary of the upcoming events; click on any of the events for more information.



The Green Digest was brought to you by ENERGY STAR ® Canada.

If you have inspirational greening stories or photos to share with Green Digest readers, please send them to Linxi at linxi@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.