Cost-Effective Healthcare & Hospital Sustainability Ideas

Making your practice more sustainable can be challenging when looking for ways to cut down on waste, both in the physical and metaphysical sense. With hospitals’ strict sanitation regulations, achieving a sustainable healthcare certification or compliance with local, state and national environmental regulations can prove to be harder than it looks.

After all, it’s not like you can just get rid of plastic surgical gloves, one-use masks and paper towels, as their reusable alternatives can harbor harmful bacteria and other pathogens that pose a risk to the sick and immunocompromised. The building’s machines, lights, water and cafeterias have the most far-reaching impact without putting your patients at risk. Let’s take a look at cost-effective healthcare and hospital sustainability ideas that’ll improve your reputation in the community, attract patients and improve health outcomes.

Improving Energy Efficiency

There are a couple of eco-friendly changes you can implement in your hospital or healthcare facility that are simple, convenient and won’t cost an arm and a leg.

Energy Efficient Lighting and LEDs

LEDs require a little bit more upfront cost, but they are well worth it in the long run. These energy-efficient lighting solutions will lower your utility bills, last 25 times longer and produce less heat, reducing overall building maintenance and upkeep costs. Better yet, you can adopt a phased-in approach that won’t drain the budget. When incandescent light bulbs burn out, switch it out with an LED.

Regular Maintenance of Hospital Equipment

Preventative maintenance isn’t usually something that makes it to the calendar until a repair takes it out of commission. However, it’s one of the most impactful things you can do to reduce equipment energy usage without impacting patient outcomes or the quality of their care. Just the opposite, in fact.

Keeping on top of maintenance with real OEM replacement parts prevents downtime, extends its working life, improves energy efficiency and reduces the costs of repairs, replacements and operation in the long run.

Switching to Energy Star Rated Products

Energy Star-rated equipment, appliances and technology encompasses more than just air conditioners. More energy-efficient alternatives exist in everything from computers and storm windows to imaging equipment and vending machines.

This is another prime example of a phased-in approach to your sustainability program. When equipment breaks down or ages out, upgrade to an energy-efficient model. There are even federal tax deductions that can help mitigate some of the upfront costs so you can reap the benefits at a fraction of the cost.

Water Conservations Methods

Water waste is another big healthcare sustainability issue that often gets overlooked since the financial incentive is lower. However, just because the direct return on investment isn’t as high as it is for gas and electrical upgrades, it doesn’t mean that it won’t contribute to new and returning business.

Indeed, a study reported that 94% of patients say the healthcare facility’s sustainability practices are an important decision factor when seeking treatment, transforming sustainability from a moral obligation to a lucrative investment. Let’s take a look at a couple of healthcare and hospital sustainability ideas to help tackle the water crisis:

Low Flow Faucets, Fixtures & Shower Heads

Installing low-flow and sensor-detecting faucets in sinks and shower heads can reduce water consumption by 30%. Not to mention, less water means less heat, reducing energy expenditure, too.

Low Flow Toilets

When you consider the average person uses the bathroom 7-10 times per day, with the average toilet using 1.6 gallons per flush, that ends up being a lot of water going down the drain. Switching to a low-flow toilet that uses as little as 1.28 gallons can save 2.24-3.2 gallons per person per day or 817.6-1,168 gallons per person per year. When you add up how many hospital visitors, staff and overnight patients rely on the hospital facilities – that adds up to significant savings.

Water Efficient Equipment

There is no shortage of alternative solutions to water conservation issues affecting healthcare sustainability. Sometimes, it’s just a matter of knowing an effective solution exists and can easily be implemented without drying up the budget. Some healthcare and hospital sustainability ideas include:

• Laundry Equipment – Energy Star-certified washing machines use 45% less water than traditional washers. What’s more, they also use 9% less energy. On a commercial scale, that can end up saving the hospital thousands of dollars annually on water and energy costs.


• Dishwashers – Dishwashers don’t have to use gallons upon gallons of water to achieve that sparkling clean finish or meet the high sanitization standards required in hospital and healthcare settings. High-efficiency dishwashers can use as little as 4 gallons of water per load.


• Sterilization equipment – Nowadays, you can replace a lot of one-use medical instruments with reusable ones with energy-efficient autoclaves and dry sterilizers.

Waste Reduction & Recycling Programs

Hospitals drain a lot of natural resources and, consequently, put a lot of stress on the environment. In reality, US hospitals produce approximately 6 million tons

of annual waste, making them one of the largest contributors to US carbon emissions and municipal waste. Let’s take a look at a few Healthcare and hospital sustainability ideas for more responsible waste management:

Transferring to Electronic Record Keeping

Paper documents and files create unnecessary waste when they can easily be digitized and saved on computers. Not only does it reduce administration costs, streamline the billing process and meet healthcare regulatory standards, but you can integrate them with other systems, improving patient care.

Creating a Recycling Program

According to the AMA Journal of Ethics cited above, 91% of plastics are not recycled. Considering the scale of waste production hospitals are responsible for, creating a recycling program centering around practicality and convenience can help keep plastics out of landfills, waterways and natural habitats.

Switching to Reusable Medical Supplies

It may be easier for doctors and other healthcare professionals to throw away medical instruments instead of going through the extra step of cleaning, sterilization and repackaging. However, it’s not sustainable, especially when the majority of hospital waste is not being properly disposed of.

Using reusable patient gowns, IV bags, syringes and tubing where it’s safe and makes sense to do so can go a long way in tackling the most pressing healthcare sustainability issues.

Reducing Food Waste

Hospital cafeterias are another sector where the potential for change is high. They are responsible for feeding the entire hospital, from staff to patients and visitors – several times a day. Making a couple of simple changes can make tons of difference – literally.

• Locally sourced food – Not only is locally sourcing food for your cafeteria cheaper, but it’s also better for the planet. Produce doesn’t have to travel as far from farm to plate, reducing carbon emissions while preserving food freshness and taste.


• Reducing waste through better inventory management – With the help of technology, hospitals can significantly reduce food waste by tracking fast or slow-moving ingredients, creating a first-in, first-out system, managing expired products and minimizing excess stock.


• Creating a composting program – Plastics and paper aren’t the only types of waste hospitals produce. In fact, creating a composting bin can keep organic waste from entering landfills and producing harmful methane gas.


• Creating a sustainable menu – Creating a sustainable menu means choosing foods that are in season to reduce your carbon footprint and cross-using ingredients to minimize waste.


• Using biodegradable packaging – Opting for biodegradable takeout containers, wrappers and utensils instead of one-use plastics can drastically reduce hospitals’ carbon footprint.

Educating the Public

It’s important to get the word out to staff and the community about the measures your healthcare facility is taking to ensure its long-term sustainability. There are often initial, upfront costs to investing in sustainable alternatives. However, these are typically mitigated in long-term savings. An eco-friendly approach to healthcare has both direct and indirect positive effects on revenue, attracting and retaining more patients who value sustainability as a consumer.

Not to mention, a smaller carbon footprint lowers emissions and environmental pollution, improving air and water quality, which has a significant impact on human health. Educating staff through healthcare sustainability courses and the community through marketing, advertisements and educational materials is vital to changing the mindset from profit over people to investing and prioritizing sustainability and its health benefits.