“Sustainable Operations in Healthcare; an Energy Management Program.” (2010). Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council. Retrieved from: http://www.mchc.com/eweb/upload/2010%20Sustainability%20White%20Paper%20-%20Links.pdf.

The Metropolitan Chicago Healthcare Council has released a new white paper, Sustainable Operations in Healthcare; an Energy Management Program. Implementing a green team in a hospital can produce marked cost-savings. Hospitals consume more than twice as much energy per square-foot as an office building, resulting in very high utility costs. For every single dollar that a hospital spends on energy demand reduction approximately $20 to $50 can be saved on energy costs, according to the United States Department of Energy. Increased sustainability efforts can also improve staff and patient safety through strategic equipment and supply improvements.

The white paper examines the benefits and process for establishing hospital sustainability teams at health care organizations and how energy management fits into a sustainability team. The paper outlines a step-by-step energy management program and discusses common energy practices for achieving success.

The health community is no stranger to change. Hospitals are constantly faced with the challenge of how to effectively communicate and sustain change within the multitude of systems involved in delivering excellent patient care. Energy efficiency is becoming a popular benchmark for hospitals as the “green” movement gains increasing momentum.