A race to net zero-early lessons from healthcare's decarbonization marathon

Kyle Lakatos; Arianne Teherani; Sapna E Thottathil; Seema Gandhi; Sheri D Weiser; Claire D Brindis

doi:10.1093/haschl/qxad006

A race to net zero-early lessons from healthcare's decarbonization marathon

Health Aff Sch. 2023 Jun 20;1(1):qxad006. doi: 10.1093/haschl/qxad006. eCollection 2023 Jul.

Authors

Kyle Lakatos^{1

2}, Arianne Teherani^{1

3}, Sapna E Thottathil³, Seema Gandhi^{4

5}, Sheri D Weiser^{1

3}, Claire D Brindis^{3

5

6}

Affiliations

¹ School of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States.
² Harvard Kennedy School of Government, Cambridge, MA 02138, United States.
³ UC Center for Climate, Health, and Equity, University of California, CA, United States.
⁴ Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States.
⁵ University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA 94143, United States.
⁶ Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, San Francisco, CA 94158, United States.

Abstract

Climate change poses a threat to healthcare systems; at the same time, healthcare systems contribute to a worsening climate. Climate-induced disasters are predicted to increase both the demand for healthcare services while also posing a threat to the integrity of healthcare systems' infrastructures and supply chains. Many healthcare organizations have taken initiatives to prepare for such disasters through implementing carbon emission-reduction practices and infrastructure reinforcement, through globally recognized frameworks and strategies known as Scopes 1, 2, and 3, and decarbonization. We explored the efforts of these early adopters to understand how they are thinking about and addressing climate change's impacts on healthcare. Through a process of reviewing the peer-reviewed literature, publicly available published documents, annual sustainability reports, conference presentations, and participation in a national decarbonization collaborative, we (1) provide a diverse set of examples showcasing the variety of ways healthcare systems are responding; (2) identify a set of emergent key themes to implementing decarbonization practices, such as the role of an organizational culture of iterative improvement and building systems of cross-organizational collaboration; and (3) synthesize the identifiable set of driving factors for long-term sustainability of these decarbonization efforts.

Keywords: climate change; decarbonization; mitigation; net zero.

Plain language summary

Climate change poses a threat to healthcare systems, while, at the same time, healthcare systems contribute to climate change. Disasters caused by climate change are expected to increase demand for healthcare services and affect healthcare infrastructure and supply chains. Some healthcare organizations have taken steps to prepare for these challenges by implementing carbon-reduction practices and infrastructure reinforcement. To do this, they are using globally recognized frameworks for reducing carbon emissions. Researchers studied these early adopters and their efforts to address climate change in healthcare. They reviewed a variety of published documents, annual sustainability reports, and conference presentations and identified key themes for implementing these carbon-reduction practices. They also identified driving factors for the long-term sustainability of these efforts. This research can help healthcare organizations better prepare for and address the challenges posed by climate change.

Publication types

Review