Southcoast Health was one of the first 61 organizations to sign the United States Health Sector Climate Pledge in 2022.
Follow along below to see our progress on the Pathway to a Sustainable Future.
As the region’s largest healthcare provider, we have a long history of proactively identifying our community’s needs to provide comprehensive healthcare to our families, friends and neighbors. Now we are stepping up once again with a clear mission to improve the health of our climate, which directly affects the health of us all.
Nationally, the healthcare industry accounts for approximately 8.5 percent of total greenhouse gas emissions, which means we have an obligation to act decisively and immediately. As well as affecting our environment, property, and public spaces, climate change is a pressing public health crisis as the rates of asthma, cancer, cardiovascular disease, heart attacks, stroke and insect-borne diseases are on the rise as a result of greenhouse gases.
Southcoast Health Net-Zero Initiative
Southcoast Health announced in 2022 that the not-for-profit community health system joined the Biden Administration in a pledge to decarbonize the healthcare sector. Through signing this pledge, Southcoast Health has committed to meeting the climate goal of reducing emissions by 50 percent by 2030 and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050.
The following report demonstrates Southcoast Hospitals Group’s compliance to the 2023 requirements of the HHS pledge. Click the button below to learn more.
Impactful Milestones
2022
Southcoast Health joined the Biden Administration’s Health Sector Climate Pledge on June 3, 2022. Read the full announcement here.
Development of the Sustainability Task Force and purchase of electric vehicles for community benefits department outreach efforts. Read the full announcement here.
Partnership with UMASS Dartmouth was established in September 2022
- UMASS Interns aid in the development of the initiative
- Weave the sustainability curriculum with the study of Southcoast’s wetland areas and our waste stream reductions
- Create an incubator for student sustainability careers
The baseline contract was awarded in October 2022 and the Director of Sustainability position was created in December 2022.
2023 – Present
The University Internship Program began.
An Environmental Sustainability Specialist joined Southcoast Health and the development of the Pathway to a Sustainable Future initiative began.
Baseline development is completed and the team analyzed the data to help identify major sustainability projects.
By November 2023, a resource plan was in place along with the Scope 1 and Scope 2 pathways. Southcoast will use the emission baseline data to guide the direction of our sustainability efforts for future projects.
Earth Day Celebrations
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) recognized Southcoast Health for its public commitments to decarbonizing its operations and improving resilience in the face of climate change. Throughout the week, Southcoast Health employees had the opportunity to dispose of any of their old and unwanted electronics in an eco-friendly way at all three of our hospital locations.
We’d also like to thank Steri-Cycle/Shred – it, Tarkett, Siemens, Approved Medical Waste, Crown Uniform, GCB Medical Supply, Toshiba, Cardinal and GE for visiting all three hospital locations to showcase the combined efforts that we have taken toward a more sustainable future.
About the HHS Climate Pledge
The Office of Climate Change and Health Equity (OCCHE), part of HHS under the Assistant Secretary for Health, developed the health sector climate pledge in conjunction with the White House to help focus industry response to climate change. In addition to reducing their carbon footprint, signatories also commit to producing detailed plans to build climate resilience for their facilities and the communities they serve.
For more information please see the resources below: