Top 10: Sustainable Hospitals

The global healthcare sector is making a major contribution to the climate crisis, which is one of the biggest health threats of the next 100 years.

The industry’s global footprint is equivalent to 4.4% of global net emissions, according to a report by Health Care Without Harm.

To help solve this, hospitals across the globe are implementing practices to drive down emissions and benefit people and the planet.

Healthcare Digital has created a list of 10 of the most sustainable hospitals in the world.

10. Khoo Teck Puat Hospital

Company: NHG Health
CEO: Professor Joe Sim
Location: Singapore

Serving 241,000 patients annually across Northern Singapore, Khoo Teck Puat Hospital has produced an energy reduction plan, centred around a photovoltaic system to reduce energy and emissions.

A solar photovoltaic (PV) system uses solar panels, inverters and batteries to convert sunlight into electrical energy.

This renewable energy can be used for lighting, low-power equipment and small plugs.

With this technology, the hospital has reduced energy consumption and reduced its dependency on fossil fuel-based energy.

9. Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust

Company: Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
CEO: Amanda Pritchard
Location: London, UK

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust aims to incorporate sustainability into all aspects of its operations, by transforming its green spaces and improving air quality.

In 2023, it published its Green Travel Plan, which outlines its plans to reduce its carbon emissions.

It provides details on how to access the Trust’s hospitals on foot, by cycling or by public transport.

It is committed to improving active travel infrastructure at its hospitals, helping to reduce carbon emissions and support staff health and wellbeing.

8. King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Company: King’s College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust
CEO: Clive Kay
Location: London, UK

King’s College Hospital’s Green Plan to 2028 sets out the Trust’s plan to protect the environment, while providing the best possible care to its patients.

Its progress towards its goals includes reducing unnecessary glove usage and reducing food waste by 28% since 2023.

It also launched a Clean Air Plan in partnership with Guy’s and St Thomas’ Trust, aiming to improve air quality to help prevent illnesses, reduce health inequity and improve living and working environments.

7. Northern Sydney Local Health District

Company: Northern Sydney Local Health District
CEO: Anthony Schembri
Location: Sydney, Australia

As part of the Global Green and Healthy Hospitals network, Northern Sydney Local Health District aims to reach net zero Scope 1 and 2 emissions by 2035.

Its Planetary Health Framework details its commitment to reducing its footprint in order to safeguard the health and wellbeing of current and future generations.

It aims to improve waste segregation and implement initiatives using the reduce, reuse, recycle waste hierarchy to reach a 50% reduction in general waste by 2030.

As well as this, it is working on increasing staff and community engagement in planetary health to make a positive change.

6. Hospital Clínica Bíblica

Company: Hospital Clínica Bíblica
CEO: Gerardo Sánchez Cordero
Location: San José, Costa Rica

As a regional leader in sustainable healthcare, Hospital Clínica Bíblica is recognised as the first carbon neutral hospital in the region.

Its actions to reduce its footprint include the use of 24 solar panels for water heating, which reduces carbon dioxide emissions and has allowed a maintained estimated saving of 7,000 litres of liquefied petroleum gas per year.

The implementation of its energy saving programme has enabled a reduction of more than 80 tons of carbon dioxide equivalent in the last few years.

5. Mayo Clinic

Company: Mayo Clinic
CEO: Gianrico Farrugia
Location: US

Mayo Clinic employs a range of sustainable practices, including energy efficiency, reducing food and general waste, water stewardship and sustainable design.

Its Rochester, Minnesota campus has a variety of natural spaces, including rain gardens to capture and filter rainwater and areas for pollination.

In its Jacksonville, Florida campus, more than 60% of the acreage has been left in a natural state.

Gianrico Farrugia, President and CEO of Mayo Clinic, writes on LinkedIn: “Form must follow function, with healing spaces designed around patient and staff needs and incorporating sustainability principles, robust digital capabilities, and the flexibility to respond to the next healthcare crisis.”

4. Kaiser Permanente

Company: Kaiser Permanente
CEO: Greg Adams
Location: US

In 2017, Kaiser Permanente opened the San Diego Medical Center, which was California’s first LEED Platinum certified hospital.

Its design is focused on cleaner, greener energy, using technologies to produce its own electricity, heat and cooling.

As of 2024, there are 74 LEED certified buildings in Kaiser Permanente’s portfolio.

The company achieved carbon neutral status in 2020, being recognised for improving its energy use efficiency and decreasing water use intensity.

Its hospitals, medical buildings and offices being without a carbon footprint saves energy equivalent to taking 175,000 cars off of the road.

3. Cleveland Clinic

Company: Cleveland Clinic
CEO: Tomislav Mihaljevic
Location: Cleveland, Ohio, US

Cleveland Clinic’s Center for Environment, Place and Health Research studies the impact of local neighbourhoods on patient health, looking at clinical medicine, statistics, epidemiology and geospatial science.

Tomislav Mihaljevic, CEO of Cleveland Clinic, writes on LinkedIn: “At Cleveland Clinic, we are reimagining what healthcare could look like by using artificial intelligence to connect and enhance every aspect of care.

“The future of healthcare is no longer science fiction.

“With creativity and responsibility, our potential to do good is limitless.”

At its healthcare facilities, it has installed LED lighting, saving more than US$3m in energy costs annually.

It plans to become carbon neutral through energy saving strategies and purchasing renewable energy from the power grid.

These purchases offset the company’s greenhouse gas emissions generated by energy used by healthcare and administrative facilities.

2. Parkland Memorial Hospital

Company: Parkland Health
CEO: Frederick Cerise
Location: Dallas, Texas, US

Parkland Health’s sustainability strategy involves ensuring that sustainability lives at the intersection of people, the planet and financial stewardship.

It aims to stay ahead of evolving environmental regulations to safeguard the future, deliver high-quality, resilient infrastructure that supports patient care and inspire the broader healthcare community through leadership and action.

Parkland also plans to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions through decarbonising its operations, particularly in its vehicle fleet.

As of 2024, it had six LEED Gold certified buildings on its main campus, which were recognised for reducing energy usage, water consumption and waste to landfill while improving indoor air quality.

It also grew 1,000lbs of fresh, organic produce for the benefit of its patients at its Southeast Community Garden in the campus.

Parkland is in the process of advancing energy efficiency technologies and converting incandescent and fluorescent lighting in its main hospital into low energy LEDs.

1. Fundació Sanitària Mollet

Company: Fundació Sanitària Mollet
CEO: Dr Jaume Duran
Location: Spain

Fundació Sanitària Mollet is a certified Net Zero Hospital, achieving a 91% reduction in carbon dioxide emissions in 12 years.

It works on waste management, appropriate use of resources, mobility, clinical management and process optimisation.

The hospital features one of the largest geothermal energy projects in Europe, with 148 wells that help reduce the air conditioning energy consumption by 30%.

Since 2017, 100% of renewable energy consumed by the company has come from renewable sources.

It aims to avoid unnecessary travel and mobility, increasing online consultations by 24%.

To help with this, it has added a new area in its rehabilitation service to improve follow-up treatments from home.

In terms of hospital infrastructure, there are gravel and plant rooftops to improve the thermal insulation and acoustic comfort of the building.

There are also natural courtyards that help filter natural light into every room, which reduces light consumption by 40% and drives down emissions.