Environ Guides Hackensack Meridian Health Hospitals to Achieve Sustainable Healthcare Certification
Solutions: Sustainability & ESG, Sustainable Healthcare Certificate
Hackensack Meridian Health, a premier nonprofit healthcare organization, is New Jersey’s largest and most comprehensive integrated network. Offering a full spectrum of medical services, innovative research, and compassionate care, it has 18 hospitals and over 500 patient care sites, including ambulatory centers, surgery centers, and rehabilitation facilities. With a dedicated team of over 35,000 members and 7,000 physicians, it’s a leader in healthcare and philanthropy, prioritizing the well-being of communities across NJ. It’s the top-ranked adult and children’s hospitals in NJ according to U.S. News & World Report’s 2023-24 rankings, with Hackensack University Medical Center recognized nationally in six specialties.
Opportunity
The Joint Commission (TJC) introduced a voluntary Sustainable Healthcare Certificate (SHC) program January 2024. This program assesses whether hospitals have implemented essential structures and processes to reduce their carbon footprint and minimize waste. The SHC is open to all hospitals accredited by TJC, as well as non-TJC accredited hospitals that comply with applicable federal laws, such as the US Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services Conditions of Participation.
Step 1: Measure Emissions Sources
Measure three or more of the following greenhouse gas (GHG) emission sources: energy use, purchased electricity, anesthetic gas use, pressurized metered-dose inhalers, fleet vehicle transportation, and waste disposal.
Step 2: Set Reduction Targets
Establish attainable, science-based reduction targets for each tracked emissions source.
Step 3: Develop a Climate Action Plan
Create a Climate Action Plan that outlines how your organization will achieve the GHG reduction targets identified in Step 2.
Step 4: Commit Resources
Dedicate resources to support emissions reduction—such as forming a Sustainability Committee, allocating financial support, or integrating sustainability into your Hospital Strategic Plan.
Step 5: Demonstrate Reductions
Use the emissions database developed in Step 1 to demonstrate measurable GHG reductions over time.
The Solution
Hackensack Meridian Health (HMH) engaged Environ Energy to assist with the pursuit of the TJC Sustainable Healthcare Certificate (SHC). Environ Energy consulted the HMH Sustainability Team by providing services to validate data, expand upon climate action plans, and review the strategic plan in alignment with the Certificate requirements. Environ Energy completed the following tasks:
Greenhouse Gas Inventory – We completed a Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory for the identified emissions sources at each of the four (4) hospitals. By doing so, we verified the existing HMH GHG databases at both the corporate and local hospital level. We validated that the HMH GHG baseline value was in alignment with all locations pursuing the SHC.
Emissions Data Validation – We reviewed the facility level GHG data with each hospital’s Sustainability Team, which included both network and local resources, to ensure they understood the data and requirements to achieve each facility’s carbon reduction target.
Climate Action Plan Review/ Development – We performed a gap analysis on the hospital’s existing Climate Action Plan to identify areas in need of further development or analysis, including by not limited to, defining timelines to meet HMH’s bold sustainability goals. Additionally, we created a list of suggestions to help them communicate the work detailed by the Climate Action Plan to their community and other relevant stakeholders.
Strategic Plan Review – We provided recommendations to enhance the HMH Strategic Plan by identifying areas where better structures and processes could be put in place to sustain success.
Road to Recertification – Lastly, we developed a roadmap to ensure that each hospital would be able to get recertified in the future, which would require showing progress towards carbon reduction goals.
“Partnering with Environ helped us put better processes in place for ensuring that our greenhouse gas emissions data were being tracked and reported consistently throughout each of our hospitals.”
— Kyle Tafuri – Vice President, Sustainability, Hackensack Meridian Health
