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2021 Health Care Climate Champions
On February 9th, 2022 the Global Green and Healthy Hospital Network announced their 2021 Climate Champions of the Health Care Climate Challenge.
The Climate Champions are recognized as having stepped up as global leaders in the transformation to a sustainable, climate-smart health care sector.
The Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care is honoured to be recognized alongside over 50 institutions for our commitment to climate action in the health sector.
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Health in a Changing Climate
Health Canada and PHAC
The federal government released on February 9th, 2022 the report Health of Canadians in a Changing Climate: Advancing our Knowledge for Action.
This is the first comprehensive study since 2008 of current and projected risks from climate change to the health of Canadians.
Linda Varangu the CCGHC's Senior Advisor on climate change contributed to Chapter 10: Adaptation and Health System Resilience. She contributed alongside our partner Jérôme Ribesse from Synergie Santé Environnement, and multiple other esteemed individuals in the health and climate sector.
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Meet our new Sustainability Champion - Surface Medical Inc. |
Surface Medical Inc. (SMI) is a Canadian medical device company solving problems in health care with simple solutions. By focusing on the importance of surface integrity in infection prevention, the company develops and commercializes patient surface repair products that have been implemented by health organisations across the globe. SMI is best known for its flagship product, CleanPatch, and its contribution to patient safety while providing numerous other benefits. Not only does CleanPatch save money and reduce infection risks, but it also minimizes environmental waste by creating a circular
economy for health care facilities.
Read their full biography HERE.
For more information on Surface Medical Inc. and CleanPatch, please visit: www.cleanpatch.ca
**If your for-profit organisation has made a serious corporate commitment to making health care more sustainable, you too can become recognized as a green health 2022 Sustainability Champion by the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care. .
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Low Carbon Economy Fund
Applications are now open for a $200 million fund to support climate action initiatives by public and private sector organisations including health care and higher education institutions, municipalities and businesses.
The Low Carbon Economy Fund's Champion stream is available to support projects that help reduce Canada's GHG emissions, generate clean growth and build resilient communities.
Awards will be between $1 million and $25 million, and cost-share ranges between 25% to 75% of total project costs.
Application deadline is March 25th, 2022!
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CSA Group Survey for Canadian Female workers - Assessing Satisfaction with Work-Mandated PPE
CSA Group is conducting a research project entitled “Investigating the Challenges Canadian Women Face Regarding Work Mandated PPE”, and as part of that research they are conducting a direct survey of female workers to better understand how PPE is suited to, and meeting the needs of, Canadian women.
This is a confidential online survey – any reporting or references to survey results will be presented to CSA Group in aggregate form only. The survey itself should only take 12 minutes to complete.
The survey will be available until February 28th, 2022.
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Canada's Volunteer Awards 2021
Did you nominate a volunteer for Canada’s Volunteer Awards?
If not, there's still time! The nomination period ends March 4, 2022.
Nominate an individual, a not-for-profit organization, a social enterprise or a socially responsible business who has made a significant contribution in improving the lives of others in their community through volunteering.
Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) is counting on you to recognize outstanding volunteers throughout Canada!
In addition to receiving an award from the Government of Canada at a national ceremony, recipients are invited to choose a not-for-profit organisation to receive a grant of $5,000 (regional awards) or $10,000 (national award).
*When you win, please remember the Canadian Coalition for Green Health Care is a non-profit that could use your support!
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Introduction to Energy Management Powered by RETScreen
There is now a FREE energy management course online. This new Massive Open Online Course (MOOC), Introduction to Energy Management Powered by RETScreen®, is available free-of-charge on the popular edX education platform. The course is to be completed at your own pace and is offered in both English and French by HEC Montréal, one of the leading business schools in the world.
The goal of this course is to help organizations combat climate change through effective energy management. It explains proven strategies to reduce greenhouse gases and encourage the transition to a low carbon economy. It also provides an introduction to RETScreen® Expert.
All participants will be able to complete the course with the free version of the RETScreen software that is available online. An additional feature for those who purchase the course certification is a 90-day trial key to RETScreen Expert Professional mode , which allows you to explore the full range of the software's capabilities.
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Canada and CHES host international health care congress |
The 27th IFHE Congress will be hosted in Toronto in collaboration with the Canadian Healthcare Engineering Society.
Unleashing Innovation: Healthcare Engineering Excellence (Toronto - September 17-21, 2022) includes education sessions with speakers from around the globe. Technical tours include Sick Kids, the Humber River Hospital and Hennick Bridgepoint Hospital.
Two major awards will also be presented; the inaugural Global Healthcare Energy Award , and the IFHE International Building Award.
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A BIG thank you to SaveOnEnergy for their continued financial support for the Ontario Green Health Care Award and the Ontario Energy Behaviour Award.
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Improving the medical curriculum on planetary health and sustainable living
BMJ
We urgently need to educate our doctors and students on the accelerating climate emergency and on how to create a sustainable health care system.
The planetary health framework links human health to the health of the planet, which is our life support system. The most recent Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Report (August 2021) emphasizes, once again, that the climate crisis is the greatest threat to health this century.
Paradoxically, health care delivery has an adverse impact on the environment, and therefore health. If the health care system were a country, it would be the fifth largest carbon emitter. Therefore, health professionals have to learn sustainable health care in order to protect planetary health.
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Canada's clean energy efforts garner plaudits
REMI Network
Canada’s clean energy efforts have been deemed exemplary among oil and gas producing countries.
A newly released report from the International Energy Agency (IEA) generally commends the federal government’s targets and policies for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and identifies Canada as a potential key player in the transition to low-carbon energy sources — both as a stable supplier of the fossil fuels that will be needed in the interim and as a leader in curbing emissions from oil and gas production.
As an oil and gas exporter, Canada is in the minority of the IEA’s 30 member nations. However, IEA executive director Fatih Birol suggests that gives it strategic influence in the Organisation of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
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Heat dome made British Columbians more anxious. Could prescribing nature help?
Time Colonist
A new landmark study has found the heat dome that scorched British Columbia in late June 2021 led to a 13 per cent average rise in anxiety over the effects of climate change.
The study, which recruited two groups of nearly 500 participants from Facebook and Instagram, offers a mental health snapshot of a cross-section of B.C.’s population, before and after the heat wave.
Of those surveyed, 60 per cent said the heat dome made them either much or somewhat more worried about climate change. The same proportion said they were greatly or somewhat impacted by the heat dome.
Past studies have found those who experience disaster are sometimes more likely to take the likelihood of a future event more seriously. So perhaps it shouldn’t be surprising that the number of British Columbians who thought it was likely their region would be devastated by climate change almost doubled to 30 per cent.
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Bureau warns of surge in greenwashing
REMI Network
The Competition Bureau of Canada is warning Canadians to remain skeptical of products and services that wrongly claim to be “green.” As more people look to reduce their environmental impact, this demand is leading to more companies making false promises.
"Along with this increase in “green” products, there has been an increase in false, misleading, or unsupported environmental claims, which are illegal in Canada,” the bureau said in a statement released Wednesday.
“This practice is called “greenwashing”. It can take many forms, including claims, adjectives, colours and symbols used to create an impression that a product or service is “greener” than it really is.”
Last year, a global review led by the International Consumer Protection and Enforcement Network found that 40 per cent of green claims made online could be misleading consumers.
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New Report on Climate, Health and COVID-19 in BC
BC Climate and Health Network
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This report analyzes three areas of health and health care delivery that have been impacted by the pandemic and that will likely be impacted by climate change. The researchers identify lessons learned in telemedicine, green infrastructure, and food security, and highlight opportunities for improvement with a focus on increasing equity. Ultimately, the pandemic provides an opportunity for forward planning which can help the province mitigate and adapt to the growing impacts of climate change.
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Canada's electric fuelling station of the future competition winners unveiled, Scottish architect claims first prize
Electric Autonomy
A potential solution to Canada’s highway EV charging future was today announced as the winning entries — judged by a ten-person jury panel for the Electric Fuelling Station of the Future design awards — were revealed.
The competition, presented by Electric Autonomy Canada in partnership with Parkland Corp., was a five-month, international search to find the design community’s best answer to the question: “How can we reimagine the highway gas station of today as a new Canadian roadside oasis for electric vehicles?”
James Silvester, the lead architect at JAS Group based out of Edinburgh, Scotland, is the first prize winner with his design entitled “More with Less.”
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NRCan survey reveals big gaps in Canadians' awareness, education and access to EVS
Electric Autonomy
A Natural Resources Canada (NRCan) survey released in January 2022 polled 3,449 Canadians to assess public confidence, awareness and education about electric vehicles (EVs).
While the survey found that 51 per cent of respondents have considered buying or leasing an electric vehicle, just 14 per cent of those have actually shopped for one. Less than half — 49 per cent — of survey respondents were aware that they could charge an EV at home.
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Okanagan College Health Sciences Centre
SABMag
Located on a narrow brownfield site on the Kelowna campus of Okanagan College, the Health Sciences Centre includes technology-enhances and student-centred labs, classrooms, and offices for health and social development programs.
The building utilizes waste heat generated by the nearby wastewater treatment plant, integrates photovoltaic panels for its primary heating and energy needs, requires no natural gas-fired HVAC systems and will earn the CaGBC’s Zero Carbon Building Design certification through demonstration of zero-carbon balance, meeting a defined threshold for thermal energy demand intensity and the provision of on-site renewable energy systems.
It was important to the College that the architecture of this new educational facility embody the health and wellness its programs support, through its use of materials, light, and landscape. As such, it is a catalyst for sustainability and wellness-focused policy changes across campus.
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NEW Passivhaus Benefits Guide
Passivhaus Trust
The NEW Passivhaus Benefits Guide forms part of the Passivhaus Trust’s wider cost-benefits research. They are delighted to share this summary report and anticipate that it will provide a valuable resource for anyone seeking to assemble a strong business case for a Passivhaus strategy or project.
Their research identified almost fifty types of benefits relating to Passivhaus which are categorised into six distinct areas. The multi-faceted benefits offered by Passivhaus resonate with different stakeholders. Homeowners may be interested in superior quality & comfort whilst lowering energy bills. Eliminating fuel poverty, reducing rent arrears, and achieving zero carbon targets will attract local authorities. The government may focus on the potential to lower peak demand and amplify grid capacity for a smooth transition to renewable energy.
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Updated model green lease attuned to the 2020s
The REMI Network
REALPAC’s newly updated model green lease for Canadian office buildings introduces measures aligned with the broadening demand for ESG (environmental, social, governance) reporting and performance outcomes in commercial real estate, and also responds to some arising pressures landlords are facing in general lease administration.
In this fifth formal revision since the inaugural 2008 effort, the document’s defining centrepiece has been renamed the “sustainability management plan” to reflect some new considerations — such as accessibility and health and well-being — that aren’t expressly tied to the environment.
Even so, some of the most notable changes in version 1.05, which was released in December 2021, relate to reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and climate change adaptation.
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AHA advocates for investments in aging infrastructure
Health Facilities Management
As part of its American Jobs Plan, the Biden administration has laid out key objectives to “reimagine and rebuild a new economy.” The $2 trillion investment seeks to address critical needs such as rehabilitating the country’s crumbling infrastructure.
Springboarding off this effort, the American Hospital Association (AHA) sent proposals urging Congress to consider hospitals and health systems when passing legislation related to the plan.
According to the Department of Homeland Security, health care is one of 16 critical infrastructure sectors that help to maintain continuity during critical times, such as during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Each year, however, health facilities face the same challenges of aging infrastructure experienced by other sectors.
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Version 8.1 of the RETScreen Clean Energy Management Software platform has been released with an array of new features. It is now available for download from the RETScreen website HERE.
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EVENTS, TRAINING AND WEBINARS |
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CASCADES National Innovation Tour
CASCADES is kicking off a national innovation tour in partnership with local organisations working to advance sustainable health care in their region. Professionals, administrators, and leaders in the health care community are invited to a regionally-based lunchtime discussion exploring priorities, needs, current efforts, and emerging opportunities related to sustainable health care. Forge connections and collaborations in a growing community of practice, and learn more about CASCADES’ call for local test teams seeking support for sustainable innovations.
There are four dates planned; follow the links below to register and receive Zoom access details:
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Canada's COP26 Health Programme Commitment - Adaptation and Resilience |
Canada signed onto the WHO’s #COP26 Health Programme, thus formally committing to climate resilient and low carbon sustainable health systems.
What makes a health system resilient? How does a health system adapt to climate change?
At Vancouver Coastal Health, speakers Michael Schwandt (Medical Health Officer), Craig
Brown (Climate Change and Health Lead), and Emily Peterson (Environmental Health Scientist) are planning for a more resilient health system amid headline-grabbing events of climate catastrophe. Through their experiences with adaptation and resilience efforts, we will explore what a commitment to climate resilient health systems looks like when the climate crisis is already here.
Date: February 25th, 2022
Time: 2:00 pm - 3:00 pm EST
This event is the second of three webinars exploring the implications of the federal government’s recent commitment to the COP26 Health Programme.
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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
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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. |
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